UMASS/AMHERST .ajidji'^}!^!;!;?).;?:^ 312066 0333 2743 6 B ui^i ':.:.■<::. ri^i!f:.:,ft:r^ M'|);^:!{;;(!i«-.«^J?!.;::,:;;:;,..; *l;'^ '': .■'.■■' '' K'l^iJt^rarT:?':;';,;-^ I'v :%■![;':■'>:" rykZi':::.!, "' 'il!":'i";'';'!!!i'iiv I >i;!'!''t',!i DDDDnDDDDDDannDanDDDDDDnnDnDDaaa D D a a a D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D a D D D D D D D D D a D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D a D D D D D D D D D D D D ^fjsT'* UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY c Per SF 521 A5 V.54 1914 D D D D D D D D D D D Q D D O D D D O D D D D D D a D D D D □ R ° □ D DDDDDDDnDDDnnaaDDnDDDDDDDDDDDDan h . ^vi ii^.v January, 1914. American l^ee Journal How Far Can a Bee I'l'BLISHED MONTHLY BY American Bee Journal 1st Nat'l Bank BIdg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION I'RICE of this Journal is $1,00 a year, in the United States of America and Mexico: in Canada. $i.io; and in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " deci3" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December. 1013. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 4 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 3 times 14c a line g times iic a line 6 " I2C " 12 " (i yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices. 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 25th of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Gentle, More Indnstrions. Long Tongaed, Ttie Best Hooey-Gatherers. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Agricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. i8u5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. i8q6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Liege Belgium. i8g6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. [Germanyl. Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers, August. 1007. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Extra BreedingQueens.$3.oo: Selected. S2.00: Fertilized. $1.50: lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of the! ANTHONY BIACGI, National Bee- - Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass'n 1 Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Honey Jars We carry several styles of honey jars, and would be pleased to mail you our catalog of everything a bee-keeper uses. 25-pound jar, heavy flint glass. $4.;5 gross. Heavy cartons that protect. Honey in any size package from i pound to a barrel, I. J. STRINCHAM 105 Park Place, New York, N. Y. APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. ARTISTS ENGRAYERS-ELECTROTyPERS 542-550S.DEflRBORNST I PONTIACBLDG. CHICAGO. C SEE? That question has been argued " time and again," but it doesn't worry me one-half so much as does another question, HOW MUCH CAN YOU SEE? How many people there are to look and how few there are to see and to think. The best realms for good seeing are in nature. The Guide to Nature tells you how. It teaches people to see the wonders and beauties of nature. $1.00 per year 10c a single copy EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Editor The Agassiz Association, Inc., ArcAdiA : Sound Beach, Connecticut WE ARE IN THE MARKET For Both Extracted and Comb Honey Would like to hear from those having Fancy and Number One Comb Honey. State best price de- livered Cincinnati. We w^ant Extracted Honey, too. No lot too large or too small for us. We re- mit the very day shipment is received. THE FRED W. MUTH COMPANY "The Busy Bee-Men" 204 Walnut Street, CINCINNATI, OHIO P. S. — Ship us your old comb and let us render them for you. Our pro- cess extracts the last drop of wax from the slumgum. We make money for you, if you will ship us your old combs and cappings for rendering. Write for fnll particulars. NARSHFIELD GOODS BEEKEEPERS:— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. \ I Marshlield Mfg. Co., !bO0OSOSO9O0OSOSoei0090000» January, 1914. American Vae Jonrnal " Scientific Queeu-Kearing " No other book compares with this one written by Mr. G. M. Doolittle. He is an expert in the business. It tells just how the very best queens can be reared. Bound in cloth. By mail, $1.00; or with the American Bee Journal, one year— both for $1.60. In leatherette binding, 75 cents, postpaid ; or with the American Bee Journal one year — both for $1.25. Send to the American Bee Journal Early (FROFALCON) Queens << ITALIANS" Untested Queens to June ist Ji.oo each. After June :. ooc each. Special prices in large quantities. A s-pound bucltet of Orange Blossom Honey delivered at your door by express for $i.io. JOHN C. FROHLIGER, 1642 Milvia Street, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco, Calif. Falcon Bee-Suppiies. etc. Pkaae mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan bred in separate yards, ready March 20. Untested, one. $1; six. $5; 12. $«; 25. $17.50; 50. I34; 100. $65. Tested, one. $i.5i5; six. $8; 12. $15. Breeders of either strain, $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame. $2.50; six one-frame. $15; two-frame$3. 50; six two-frame $20.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $3.00; six one-frame. $17.40; two-frame. $4; six two frame $23.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens. which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS. Attalla, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R ^ ^Trade mark.) SAVES -,T^ME^^ ^ DEALERS Each, 15c; Doz., $1.65, postpaid [f your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lewistown, Illinois BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- *^ frames of every description. Section hold- ^ qers. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hivebod- '^' les. Smokers, etc. Get my prices before placing your orders. O R. H. SCHMIDT ^ flt.3, Box 209, Sheboygan Wis. PROTECTION HIVE. The shallow Metal Roof Cover and the Outside Rim make a divisible deep cover which can be handled together or in part. They eliminate the Chaff Tray nuisance, and the heavy bungle- some deep cover in manipulation. The Rim holds the overhead packing in winter and acts as a super protector at other times. This combination is the finest in hive construction on the mar- ket today. Dead air space or packing as you prefer. ~s material in the outer wall. Special cir- cular showing iri large illustrations will ex- plain all. A. G. WOODMAN CO., Grand Rapids, Michigan The Beekeepers' Review Would like very much to enroll a goodly number of new subscribers for the year 1914. Listen: Besides the 3000-colony series managed from one office, we will begin with the January number of the Review a series of articles by a beekeeper " gray with experience," that we will call the Farmers' Series, or how to produce comb honey with tivo z'isils a year. The Editor of the Review has looked into this system quite thoroughly, and believes that with this method that will be de- scribed in the Review during 1914, that the busy man or farmer can harvest much more comb honey per colony with this system with about a fourth of the work that is required with the ordinary system now in vogue. We are printing 400 e.xtra sets of the Review for the last half of 1913, and as long as they last they will be included free to all newly paid in advance sub- scribers for 1914. All progressive beekeepers should subscribe for two or three good bee journals. We are making a special low price on the Review when clubbed with other bee journals. Here are two good ones : American Bee Journal one year The Review Gleanings ' American Bee Journal The Review 1 00 ■ ^""^ *"* ^*" '" $1.00 1 1.00 1.00^ All three for $1.50 $2.00 To take advantage of this lozv price, all remittances should be addressed THE BEEKEEPERS' REVIEW, Northstar, Michigan N N N N N N N N N N N H N N N N M N N ORDER Your BEE-SUPPLIES NOW Now you can get what you want and have it ready when you need it. Prices Now are Naturally Lower than they Will Be Later |h We not only name low prices, but furnish high grade goods as well. We have been manufacturing Hives, Frames, Sections, Shipping-cases, etc., over 15 years, more than 10 years under the present management. We have satisfied others, and we will try to please you. Mail us an itemized list of what you want, and we will quote you. We want to save you money. Minnesota Bee-Supply Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota ^Y¥XXXXMXXXXA JC YYX]i:i333:£XXX# January, 1914. American l^ee Jonrnal H falcon' Hives,Supplies and Foundation Everything for the BEEKEEPER "falcon" Foundation made in the "falcon" plant at Falconer, N. Y. SUPPLIES FOR 1914— Take inventory of supplies now and u=aure what you will need for a slim season. Get them ready at odd tLmes in the winter and if there is a eood season you will have ample time to re-order in April and set them for use. We I - e lo make " Inventory Sales " of " Falcon " supplies, for we know that we are dealing with an up-to-date beekeeper. I NVESTMENT-What is the investment of anextra $25.00 in supplies to the loss of 500 pounds of honey ? Resolve to change for irjij. and buy " Falcon" supplies now. , ,. u u. 1 j 1. j- EARLY-ORDER DISCOUNT— For Falcon " hives and supplies bought now we give an early-order cash discount equai to 12 percent per year. You see it pays for a strictly money basis. Write for early-order discounts, and send list of wants for " FALCON " QUALITY— In making our beehives, all of our waste lumber is made into cheap toy building-blocks, so that we are able to put better material in our hives and goods. Get a trial lot this fall so that you can see for yourself, and still have time to order lousupplies. . , , . j ■ t . . c 1 m ^r u r n . . -j -.u FREE SAMPLES of our famous "Falcon " foundation, made in our factory at Falconer. N. Y.. cheerfully sent postpaid with copy of catalog, and name of nearest dealer if desired. FACTORY W. T. FALCONER MFG. CO., ir/u'i-d the good bcehiTcs come from Fal coner, N. Y., U. S. A HONEY CANS and PAILS Our Friction-top Honey-cans, Slip Cover pails. Honey Shipping cans. Round and Square, are standard con- tainers for honey. American Can Company Chicago New York San Francisco With offices in all large cities BIND YOUR JOURNALS So that you can refer to them at any time The cut illustrates the Big Ben Binder. It is inade of heavy cloth, and is arranged so that each number can be filed as received. We have a quantity of these made especially for our readers, with the name American Bee Journal in gilt ' on the cover. Each Binder holds the issues for three years. When bound your Bee Journals will appear to be m genuine book form. The price of this Binder alone is $1.00. We club it together with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal, both for $1.00. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land — None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H, S. Duby. St. Anne, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. Please mention Am. Bee Jour ^1 when v W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings Laws' Queens above the usual standard; bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist. About 50 first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested. $1.25; 5 for $5.00; Breeders, each $5.00. Address W. H. Laws, Beevllle, Texas. DAIi ntO Machinery Read what J. L Pardit, of Chari- ton, N. Y.. Bays- *TVe cut with oa« of your Combined Mftchine-B, Uat winter. 60 chaff hJves wltli 7-ln cap^ 100 honey-racks. 600 brood-framea t.000 honey boie*. and & preat detfi of other wort. This winter we hart doQbletbeanionnt of bee-hlveii,eto.a to make, and we expect to d-a it with this Saw. It will do all you say It wili." Catalog and price-list Cre» Addivii, W. f . ft iOHB B ARRXa Mi Baby St., BMfcfard, lU. January, 1914. American Hee Journal Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doinc our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wide-awake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of outapiaries numberine hundreds of colonies in all We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in iqi.,. when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for igt4. For 1014 we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three vears In deciding just what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue for 1012. In getting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raising and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY — Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for IQ12 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- sial number on the same subject. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the oublic. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in /;,i«,i-production. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1— Beekeeping in Cities.— Probably few beekeepersrealize the number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic. and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by professional men. we shall have discussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a //■/«■ story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined Sroo.oo because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL — Breeding Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted queen-breeders on qualifications of breeding queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1 — Moving Bees We, ourselves, expert to move soo colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto-truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. jJJlf^ h^^ Ji."^'"' 1^^ been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop ?nd market reports from various parts of the country In IVI4 we are going to make the effort of our ives to get telegraph reports from impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt. Texas Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we Kpf fnem. but in this August :st issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- Por,'s and conditions of the market in gen- eral. No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1— Wintering.— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of igi3-i4. which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for 1Q14 If you are'now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price. $1.00. will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio White Sweet Clover Seed Sweet Clover is rapidly becoming one of the most useful things that can be grown on the farm. Its value as a honey-plant is well known to bee-keepers, but its worth as a forage-plant and also as an enricher of the soil is not so widely known. However, Sweet Clover is coining to the front very fast these days. Some years ago it was considered as a weed by those who knew no better. The former attitude of the enlightened farmer today is changing to a great respect for and appreciation of Sweet Clover, both as a food for stock and as a valuable fertilizer for poor and worn-out soils. The seed should be sown either in the fall or early in the spring. 20 to 2.5 pounds per acre of unhulled seed is about the right quantity to sow. We can ship promptly at the following prices for the white variety: Postpaid, one pound for 30 cents, or 2 pounds for 50 cents. By express, f. o. b. Hamilton — 5 pounds for 80c ; 10 pounds for $1.50 ; 25 pounds for $3.75 ; 50 pounds for $7.00 ; or 100 pounds for $13.00. Seed will be shipped on receipt of order American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. Better Fruit Published at HOOD RIVER, OREGON, is the best, handsomest and most valuable fruit growers' paper published in the world It is handsomely illustrated and shows the Western methods which have been so suc- cessful in winning high prices. Subscription Price $1.00 Per Year in Advance Sample copies upon request. Better Fruit Publishing Company HOOD RIVER, OREGON. WESTERN BEE KEEPERS S-'e^an^ get the best goods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver, Colorado English Honey-Spoon. 'I his fine goc Honey-Spoon and the Ameri- can Bee Journal for one year— both for only II.7S. Send all orders to the American Bee Journal, Hamilton. 111. HAPPY NEW YEAR! THIS IS OUR 40th YEAR! BEWARE WHERE YOU BUY YOUR BEEWARE I WATER MAKES THE FINEST Be Sure This Brand is on Your Hives & Sections. Our New 1914 Catalog is Now Out, SEND FOR IT TODAY. Over 30 Distributing Houses THE CATALOG WILL GIVE YOU THE NEAREST ONE G. B. LEWIS CO., WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN. (Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamilton. III., under Act of March 3, 187').) Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building C. p. DADANT, Kdilor. DR. C. C. MILLbiR, Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL, JANUARY, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 1 The National Meeting The National Beekeepers' Associa- tion will meet in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 17, 18 and 19, 1914. We have no details, as this information came to hand at the time of going to press. We hope that only a part of the time will be spent in discussing the affairs of the association, and that at least one day will be devoted to a general discussion of apiary subjects. Otherwise the in- terest of the meeting would be con- fined to the authorized delegates of the affiliated associations. Our Front Cover Picture Our front cover picture shows the original apiary of Mr. Emile Cham- pion, of Gergy, France, before he un- dertook to use movable frame hives. Our visit to this progressive apiarist was described on pages 295, 297, Sep- tember, 1913. More details will be given in future " Notes from Abroad." Beeswax for Leaky Joints in Feeders In this number Mr. Wilder advises that leakage of wooden joints may be prevented by running very hot bees- wax around those joints. Let us em- phasize those words "very hot." And as wa.x often expands and shrinks so as to crack, there would be some ad- vantage in mixing a little tallow with it for that purpose. Another splendid preparation for preventing leakage or stopping cracks in barrels, wooden troughs, tanks, etc., is made with a mixture of hot beeswax, rosin and fine wood ashes. Such a preparation should be used at once, for as soon as it cools it becomes exceedingly hard. Are Italian Bees in Tessin Im- mune to American Foul Brood? We receive from a reliable Swiss apiarist a protest against the statement made by Mr. Biaggi, and inserted in the October number of the American Bee Journal, page 344, that the bees of Italian-Switzerland are immune to foul brood. This man encloses a pamphlet pub- lished at Bern in 1910, in which it is stated that an apiary was found in Tes- sin, in 1909, which had 13 healthy colo- nies, 36 diseased, and 54 dead. This pamphlet was published by Fr. Lauen- berger, chief of the foul brood inspec- tion, and states that there was so much disease in the Canton of Tessin that a qnarantine was placed at that time on the bees of that district. Fair play compels us to insert this correction. Odor and Scent in Bees The reader will find in this number an article from the pen of Mr. Arthur C. Miller in reply to Dr. Bruennich on the introduction of queens. The two antagonists in this discussion are most able and fully equal to the occasion. It would therefore be a mistake to step in. There is, however, one point upon which it is as well to inform the novice who reads the discussions. There is >io doubt that colonies and swarms queens, bees and drones have personal odor, just as much as human beings or wild fowls or game. We all know how easily a good dog will fol.ow the trail of his master by scent. But because two strange dogs may act friendly to each other at their first meeting, it does not follow that they are unaware of the fact that they are strangers. And if two dogs from the same kennel happen to fight over a bone and keep up the fight even after the bone has dis- appeared, we will not deduce from this that they have suddenly become stran- gers to each other. We open a hive of bees and scatter the combs, with the bees hanging to them, against neighboring objects, a tree, a hive-body, etc. In lU to 20 min- utes, if there are no robbers about, we return them and our bees will still be calm. If robbers come, they may be angry, not only at the robbers, but at their keeper, and if the thing is carried on far enough, they may in rare in- stances become angry enough to fight among themselves, like the dogs above mentioned. Is this an evidence that they do not know that they belong to the same hive ? No beings in the world, that we know of, show a better scent than bees do. They can trace honey through the key-hole of a grocery store. We have known them to come down a fireless chimney, to a room where honey was kept, crawling in through a space in the chimney-board. And as to having and recognizing a hive odor, we have seen two swarms fight on being hived together in a dearth of honey. We have seen bees craw! over our hands, because, a few minutes before, we had handled their queen. We have seen a deserted hive robbed quietly as long as one colony was doing it, but with a January, 1914. American "Bee Journal very strenuous fight when other colo- nies joined for a share in the spoils. There is no end to the instances of very positive odor and scent, enabling bees to recognize each other, however much they may be induced to accept of strangers under certain circum- stances. Dr. Miller, to whom the above re- marks were referred for comments, writes : " Arthur C. M'Uer says when combs of bees are leaned against trees, etc., 10 minutes or more, and then returned, a violent fight takes place. From this it will be understood by the novice that there is always danger of fighting, if combs are so exposedj even to the destruction of one-fourth of the col- ony. This is entirely new to me. I have thus exposed combs hundreds of times — sometimes for an hour — have had them troubled by robbers, but if there was ever a case of fighting on return to the colony, I did not know it." Price Cutting ou Honey Nine persons out of ten believe in fostering conditions to continue com- petition and cut prices on every article of produce and manufacture, at all times. This view is not right, although competition should e.xist between simi- lar articles from different sources. Quality is a very strong competitive point. J. L. Byer, in this magazine for Oc- tober, page 339, mentions some price cutting on Canadian honey, despite the instructions of the Canadian associa- tion and agreement of the members to hold all their honey at the fixed price. Mr. Byer does not emphasize strongly enough that no price cutting should exist on the honey of a certain quality produced by that group of beekeepers. Their product is in competition with honey of other localities, and that is enough. What harm is there in price cutting ? It eventually eliminates the weaker ones from the business. This throws the article in the hands of fewer indi- viduals, and thus control of product and abnormal prices have come about on many things of necessity. Various magazines recently gave prominence to an article on this sub- ject by Louis D. Brandeis, the noted foe to monopoly. He brings out this point strongly with reference to manu- factured articles. Price maintenance of a certain article of individuality is- upheld. Price cutting quickly elimi- nates the ones of limited capital, con- trol comes, and monopoly follows with its evil of higher prices than ever ex- isted before. We yrge you to get and read Mr. Brandeis' article, and regret that our columns cannot include it here. It may be found in "Country Life" for August, Ii113. Do not cut prices, but hold together at a fair living remunerative price. With proper distribution prices can be maintained on honey of quality. H. c. D. in the Evening Star, by an author of books : Propolis is that with which bees "seal up the cracks and crevices of the hive before beginning to build cells." "The queen is usually able to deposit a royal egg in the cell prepared for it. If for any reason there should be a shortage of royal eggs a worker egg is transferred into a roval cell." Dr. Miller and Family Ketiirued Doctor and Mrs. Miller and Miss Wilson returned home Dec. 18, from a five weeks' visit to Dr. Miller's son, Charles Miller, who is living in Wash- ington, D. C. They report an enjoy- able trip. Amu.siug' Errors Seldom can a writer other than a beekeeper write anything about bees without getting oflf something that might go in the funny column. Here are two samples from a column article Meeting- of the Iowa lieekeepers The Iowa beekeepers met at Des Moines, Dec. 10, 11, and 12. The con- vention was enthusiastic and numer- ously attended, about 120 beekeepers being present. A photograph of the meeting will be published in our next number, accompanied with an abridged report of the proceedings. The editor of the American Bee Journal was there and enjoyed it immensely. The asso- ciation has very efficient ofl!icers and a number of members who are very large producers. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Minnesota Inspector's Report. — We received some time ago a very excel- lent little pamphlet issued under the direction of Mr. J. Alf. Holmberg, in- spector of apiaries for the State of Minnesota. Mr. Holmberg, goes very thoroughly into the manner of discov- ering and treating foul brood. He also gives report of inspection done which is briefly as follows ; Number of apiaries inspected 411 of hives 7.731 of apiaries found diseased. 75 of colonies found diseased 451 of apiaries given treatment 74 of apiaries reinspecled — 51 of colonies found incurable and destroyed 47 Number of empty hives disinfected 103 ment of humanity "poppy culture also has a bad effect on apiculture, the pro- ductiveness of the hive falling off 75 percent." Here, then, is an added reason for the aboliti'on of the culture of this plant, a very insignificant reason, how- ever, as compared with the main one stated above. A Big Crop. — The beekeepers of this section are now busy preparing their crop for market. The Rocky Mountain Bee Company, of Forsyth, Mont., has a force of eight helpers grading and cas- ing its crop for this season, consisting of about 1500 cases of comb honey and 90,000 pounds of extracted. They have already shipped several hundred cases, and are receiving many letters from pleased customers, commending the quality and delicious flavor of the honey. - /■'orsyl/i Times-Jouiinil. Poppy Culture Hinders Beekeeping in Siberia.— Consul John I'". Jewell, located at Vladivostok, states in a recent re- port on opium culture in Siberia, that besides being contrary to the better- Bee Meetings. — Following is a list of the bee meetings to occur within the next few months, with date and place of meeting. Other meetings will be added as the dates reach us : Washington State Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, North Yakima, Wash., Jan. 7 and 8, 1914. Joint meeting Western New York, Ontario and Seneca County Beekeep- ers' Societies, Canandaigua. N. Y., Jan. 13. Ohio State Beekeepers' Association, Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 14 and 15. New Jersey Beekeepers' Association, New Brunswick, N. J., Jan. 22 and 23. Tennessee Beekeepers' Association, Nashville, Tenn., Jan 30. Wisconsin State Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, Madison, Wis., Feb. 3 and 4. Arizona Honey Kxchange, Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 7. North Texas Beekeepers' Associa- tion, Greenville, Tex., April 1 and 2. Wisconsin Meeting.— The Wisconsin State Beekeepers' Association will meet in annual convention at the Capi- January, 1914. American Hee Journal tol Building, Madison, Wis., Feb. 3 and 4, beginning at 10 am. Tuesday. The headquarters for beekeepers will be at Simons' Hotel. We are preparing an interesting program, and looking for a large attendance. Gu.s Dittmer, Sec. A Belgian Opinion on the Italian Bee — Belgium is one of the most thickly settled, if not the most thickly settled country in the world. It has also the best agricultural system. In beekeep- ing they are leaders, and their monthly magazine, " Le Rucher Beige," is often quoted for its practical way of treating modern bee questions. Mr. A. Wathelet, its editor, whose portrait we reproduce in this number, Mr. a Wathelet. of Belgiim. Editor of the "Rucher BelEe:" one of the foremost bee-papers in the French language. is a large practical apiarist, and- his, opinion is of value. He writes us as follows concerning the Italian bee: " I read, in L'.-Vpiculteur, your expres- sion of opinion concerning the Italian bee. As a rule, the beekeepers of the Basin of the Meuse are of the same opinion, and the Italian bees pure or mixed, are to be found in almost all our apiaries." ••• More Improvements in Parcel Post — According to bulletins recently sent by the Department at Washington to Post- offices over the country, commencing with Jan. 1,1914, there is to be a change made in the parcel post. After that date the weight limit for parcels to be sent within the loO-mile zone will be increased from 20 pounds to 50 pounds with the same rates apply- ing, 5 cents for the first pound and 1 cent for each additional pound. This would make the charges on a .5ii-pound package 54 cents within the zone limit. Outside of the 150-mile zone the weight limit is to be increased from II pounds, as at present, to 20 pounds. There are also material reductions in rates for these zones as compared with formerly. The department still con- tinues the plan, however, of a varying rate increasing with the distance. .\nother important change is that after March Ui, books will be admitted to the parcel 'post at the regular rates except that on books of 8-ounce weight or less the rate will be % cent an ounce. The reader will probably realize the importance of these changes. It will mean that the consumer can order a large number of things to come to him by parcel post, at least things which he is in a hurry for. For instance, within the 150-mile zone, a beekeeper who needs a crate of sections and a pound of foundation in a hurry, can order them sent by parcel post at a cost to him of about 40 cents. If he lives on a rural free delivery route the advantage will be all the more apparent. Gradually we are approaching the system of most European countries where the limit is 100 pounds, and the rate is the same for the whole country. Below is a list of the rates as they will apply after Jan. 1. As stated above, the limit of weight will be 50 pounds for the first fwo zones, and 20 pounds for the othe'rs : First Each lb addi'nal lb. Zone 1 and 2 5c Ic " 3 6c 2c " 4 Vc 4c " 5 8c 6c " 6 9c 8c " 7 11c 10c " 8 12c 12c New Jersey Meeting. — The annual meeting of the New Jersey Beekeepers' Association will be held at New Bruns- wick, N. J., Jan. 22 and 23, 1914. E. G. Carr, Sec. A Reprint of the Original Book of L. L. Langstroth The American Bee Jour- nal is preparing, jointly with Gleanings in Bee Culture, a reprint of the "Hive and Honey-Bee" just as it was first issued over 60 years ago, by the man who is called everywhere "the Father of American ."Xpiculture." The reader will find this work mentioned in the advertising columns. The book will be ready within a few weeks. Below we give the introduction prepared for it by the editor : Reprints of old text-books are very unusual things. Few works of this kind have that honor, while novels and histories are republished bythe million. It takes works likes t^ose of Virgil or Aristotle, or quaint writings like "Isaak Walton's Compleat Angler " to interest the later generations. In the case o Mr. Langstroth's original " Hive and Honey-P.ee," the student of apiculture and the book lover are both interested, and men of these two classes, though few in number, are worthy of consid- eration. Three qualifications have centered the interest upon Mr. Langstroth, his accuracy of observation, his interest- ing diction and his invention of the most practical hive the world has ever known. His accuracy of observation is no- ticeable to this day by the student of the honey-bee's habits. Many things that some of us have just discovered are to be found in Langstroth. We make over again the mistakes which he has made and corrected. He was careful not to oppose popular fallacies without argument. Read his introduction to the subject of the " Bee Moth." After having stated, as a fact, what was firmly believed wherever bees were kept, that: " so fatal have been its ravages (the moth's) in this country that thousands have abandoned the cultivation of bees in despair," he slowly leads his reader to the truth which he had discovered, that the moth is harmless in well-kept apiaries, that : "When a colony has become hopelessly queenless, then, moth or no moth, its destruction is certain. Every year, large numbers of hives are bereft of their queen, most of which are either robbed by other bees or sacked by the bee-moth, while their owner imputes the mischief to something else than the real cause. He might just as well imagine that carrion birds or worms, which are devouring a dead horse, were the primary cause of its untimely'end." This was one of the most difficult facts to impress upon the average bee-mas- ter, but every year has better shown the truth of this vigorous statement. His interesting style and diction make the original book read like a novel. Mr. Langstroth followed no regular text-book method, and for that reason many of his statements are difficult to trace. When revising his book, at his request, after some 33 years of publication, and because his impaired health prevented him from keeping up the work, we added some two-fifths new matter, and arranged his writings in such an order that it became easier for the student to find the information he seeks. But we did this at the expense of the novel-like feature of the work. The invention of the Langstroth hive, the most practical in existence, a hive which may be " taken apart like a pup- pet show," has revolutionized bee- keeping. The inventions of the honey extractor by Hruschka, and of comb foundation by Mehring, the latter ren- dered practical by A. I. Root, would have been of but little use without such a hive. The very fault which a leading apiarist, R. L. Taylor, once found against it, that it is a rattle box, is a proof of its great convenience in ma- nipulations. Too many new hives, fine when just emerged from the carpen- ter's hands, proved anything but "mov- able " when occupied and glued up by the bees. After nearly 30 years of successive revisions, and some 20 different edi- 10 January, 1914. American Hee Jonrnal tions, making a much larger book, we now offer, side by side with it, this re- print of the original work, as a glori- fication of its author and an evidence of the material progress which over ' the first symptom of a cold, and the barrow became very dry in the ^l^ yourself to your boudoir and turn hot weather, it was a very 'rickety " ?\ °"" '"'° \ ''^^''"y P"'?''' To affair, soon giving out and requiring a ^""^ken the blood circulation in your new one, so that after all it was not f^", massage it with he spermaceti very econmical massage cream, and with a bowl of hot This summer' we had one of these water and two Turkish wash cloths at wheelbarrows in the last stage of de- ,^^"?' P"S'f ° 'iompresses on your eyes crepitude. Along came Allen Latham, fo-" '3. °/ ^'^ minutes. This will allay and after looking at it somewhat criti- any inflammation. The nose also must callyheasked,"Do vouthinkitissafe ^^"^ ^ '"^e share of attention. To to trust a load of honey to a thing like ^llay the swelling and inflammation, that :-"' Then, after asking permission, bathe it at night with balm of honey, he began to do things to that wheel- balm of honey. barrow. He ruthlesslv tore it asunder, reducing it to its primitive elements, P^J^fifiJ^^^'.'r'i'.L- 2 ounces ., ,. -^^ 1 1 J -f -^ Kectined SDirits 54 ounce so that it looked as if it nevermore Glycerin M would be a wheelbarrow. Then here- Citric acid pure) i>4 drams assembled its parts, perhaps adding to Essence of ambercris 6 drops them; at least he added two very sub- Mix the honey and glycerin byheat- stantial uprights, fastening all together ing very slightly, and while the mixture 12 January, 1914. American ^ee Journal is cooling, dissolve the acids in the spirits and add the essence. When the first mixture is cold, put the two to- gether and stir until thoroughly min- gled. With this treatment administered at the very beginning of a cold your time of affliction will be brief. And there- after don't forget to keep the body at an even temperature and so ward off the " keyhole colds." — C/iica^'O Record- Ih-rald. clover seed is now worth more than alfalfa seed in some markets. E^ Western ^ Bee-I^eping Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. A Visit to Marengo Early in December the writer was in Chicago and decided to call on Dr. Miller at Marengo. But neither he nor Miss Wilson were at home, which was quite a disappointment. Dr. Miller's house stands upon a slight rise of ground, and was recognizedat once from the picture I have seen. I saw a small patch of sweet clover which the Doc- tor evidently is trying. The bees were in the cellar under the house beside the furnace room. The weather was warm, and the thermometer in the cel- lar at noon registered 52 degrees, but the bees were quiet, only a few being found on the floor. I noticed that the Doctor has no paint on his hives, as I have previously read. If he should try that no paint scliemc in Colorado, he would be unable to keep his hives from gaping open at all the corners, and how badly all his sections would look after being wet through the cracks that would soon appear in those covers. When the Doctor finds out that the inside of his hives are all varnished by propolis, closing all the pores, as Mr. Parsons mentions, perhaps he will invest in some paint. Sweet Clover In cleaning sweet clover seed there is a large amount of leaves and fine bits of stalks thrown out by the seed cleaner. This resembles alfalfa meal very much and equals it in feeding value. It is worth a cent a pound. Our cow has given a larger amount of milk since feeding this than any time since she could run on green grass. Almost enough of this sweet clover meal (I will call it) is secured to pay for the cleaning of the seed. At the Land Show in Chicago I saw a bale of sweet clover hay in the United States Gov- ernment Exhibit with this explanation printed on a card: "Hay of sweet clover is much less bitter than the green plant and stock will become ac- customed to it and develop a liking for it if they are forced to eat it for a few days. It is practically equal to alfalfa in feeding value." Also in this exhibit were enlarged photographs of hulled alfalfa and sweet clover seed, showing how to tell when one or the other is adulterated. Micro- scopes and samples of seed were also placed so one could examine the dif- ferent seeds and thus get a first-hand knowledge of how to judge seed. If the present sweet clover agitation keeps up in the farm journals and farm- ers' institutes, sweet clover growing is going to assume the proportions of a rage. One experienced seedsman told me that he thought it a mistake to ofi^er anything but unhulled seed on the market. His reason is that unhulled sweet clover seed cannot be adulterated without easy detection. When the seed is hulled it can be easily adulterated with weed and alfalfa seed unless alfalfa is higher than sweet clover seed, in which case adulteration would doubt- less go the other way. Hulled sweet Heavy Snow in the West December 4 and .') northern Colorado was visited with one of the heaviest snowfalls in the memory of the oldest residents. It was a heavy wet snow, and measured about 4.j inches at Boul- der. The writer was on his way home from Iowa, and it took 4 days to get through, being delayed 3 days in Kan- sas and Colorado on account of the snow. The bees wintered outside are covered completely with snow meas- uring 12 to 15 inches over the tops of the hives. A number were shoveled out a week after the storm, and a space was found about 5 inches wide all the way around each hive, and the bees themselves were in fine condition. The fall of snow was so heavy that many roofs were broken in, and travel all along the highways was very slow to be resumed. The snow was even heavier in the mountains, where from .5 to 7 feet fell during the storm. This makes a heavy fall of snow for the mountains so far this year with inevit- ably more to follow. It is my belief that a large crop of honey will be pro- duced in the West this coming year if conditions continue favorable. We have more bees than in 1913, and other conditions are just as favorable. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. Seme Common Questions Aslted and Answered " Me. Wilder : — I am an amateur bee- beeper, and like all such have trouble- some problems, and I must turn to my more experienced friends for advice. I have 15 colonies in modern hives and 15 in box-hives which are badly scat- tered around, and I want to arrange them in a more systematic manner. How shall I proceed ?" Answer. — I would prepare the stands and place them where you want to set the bees, and then move the colonies on them. Do this during a very cold spell, and there will be no loss of bees. If you desire to arrange the hives in pairs or in rows do so, and have as many colonies as possible in the shade, but if shade is plentiful, you can ar- range them in rows that will best suit your convenience. Question. — " How should I feed scrap honey or sugar syrup ? Would it be a good idea to take the feed away from the apiary, say 200 yards, which is about as far as bees go for water?" Answer. — I would dilute the honey with warm water until it is about as thick as thin sj rup, and use feeders of sorne kind. You might do open feed- ing, as you suggest, if your neighbors have no bees — but you should not put out more feed than they would take up during the warm part of the day, and none should be put out on cool or rainy days, as a lot of bees will be chilled and lost. It would not be of much advantage to set the feed some distance away so far as robbers are concerned, for they would soon be on the scene. Of course, the feed should not be placed very near a hive. Question. — "I have tried division- board feeders and don't like them, for I have not been able to nail and wax them sufliciently to prevent leakage." Answer. — If they are nailed well and do not split, then if very hot bees- wax is run around the joints on the in- side, they should not leak. Question. — "In October 1 had sev- eral light colonies ; when I fed them they were destroyed by robbers. How could I have avoided this ?" Answer. — October is a bad time to feed bees. It should have been done about Sept. 1, when the bees were gath- ering a little honey from fall flowers. Then, too, you should not feed the light or weak colonies, but take the best frames of sealed honey from the strong- est colonies and give them to the light ones ; then contract the entrances of the weak ones to about one bee space, and feed the strong ones. Question. — " Last fall I bought 47 January, 1914. American T^ee Joarnaij J. R. Dueden. of Macon. Ga.. is a bee enthusiast. Limited nectar-producing plants necessitates small and scattered apiaries with him. colonies of bees in box-hives, and when I went to move them 14 were already dead, and the rest at the point of star- vation. When I arrived home I at- tempted to feed them, but the robbers got busy and " cleaned them all up " ex- cept 18. I placed the feed around on the tops and bottoms of the hives. Wasn't this experience ?" Answer. — Yes, it was, and there are many inexperienced who have bought box-hives that were robbed too close and lost. If they are not heavy with stores, and a lot of bees in them, you had better let them alone. Question. — " I bought your book, "Southern Bee Culture," and " .\ B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture," and I hope I will make a beekeeper yet." Answer.— You should have bought these books before you started in bee- culture and posted yourself well, and your progress would have been much faster. Question. — "In spite of all I am hav- ing some success. I sold, this season, $45 worth of honey, and my best col- ony netted me $11. and I have not lost any bees in modern hives. I have not had many swarms this year. When the bees crowd into the hives during rainy weather, when the main honey-flow is on, will it not cause them to swarm much more than if the weather is warm and sunny ?" Answer. — Yes, the bees will swarm much more under such conditions as you name, especially if this is kept up two or more days, and as soon as the weather clears up we have to hustle to keep down swarming. " I tried your method of transferring, and had good success. I expect to do more of it next season. I take Glean- ings in Bee Culture, and am now send- ing in my subscription to the Ameri- can Bee journal. I will have a good time studying bee-culture this winter." J.\MEs A. Smith. Lawrenceville, Ga. A Georgia Boy Happy Among His Bees It seems a little strange that some people are so very happy at certain occupations, and such is the case with Mr. J. R. Dueden, of Macon, Ga., who has a number of apiaries scattered over the surrounding country, one of which is shown here, with Mr. Dueden among the hives. I doubt if a more pleasant or better-natured man could be found in the ranks of beekeep- ers. It seems that he is exactly suited to beekeeping ; his natural talents run that way. You cannot interest him much unless you talk bees or honey. He is just "brimful" of the business, and from what he is doing at it, he and the bees make a good team. He is not located in a section where there is great pasture for bees, and he keeps them scattered in small apiaries. To Visit Florida I am planning to go to Bradentown the latter part of the winter. I have long wished to make this trip, and now as it is becoming a winter resort for beekeepers, I can't resist the pull. I have a brother living there who once told me that the people who came there with little money, and could not board at the hotels, but lived cheaply by camping out, were known as "tin can tourists." I will have to come un- der that head, I guess. Now. if any of your fellows find a handy tin can lying around, please save it for me. If there is any fun or fishing going on I am just the one to get into it, and I also enjoy swimming as well as any of the boys, even if I have been a beekeeper for over -30 years. H.xRRY Lathrop. Bridgeport. Wis., Nov. 24. Come right on Mr. Lathrop. We will American Vee Journal gladly greet you in this glorious sum- mer, sunnv land. There are a lot of " tin can tourists " here, and more re- ported on the way, so there will be many of your class hert for you to "chum" with. There is another class here called "Crackers," who are about on an equality with the " tin canners." They associate together very much, and the writer comes under this head. So far as tin cans are concerned there is a great demand for them for your purpose, but I am going to endeavor to have you a lot of nice ones saved up. And about fishing, we will see that you catch up completely, and not have any more of the fever to trouble you in some time. Swimming is fine here. The writer, in company with some other " bee-cranks " the other day, was strolling along the beautiful shell beach. When we had reached a point some distance from a residence, a surf bath was suggested, and you know the rest. Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy, Ontario. "Away Up North" Out of the Snow While Ohio and other central States were treated to an old-fashioned bliz- zard early in November, "away up North in Ontario " we have had no snow until today, Dec. 8. We are get- ting our first light fall of the beautiful. Editor Root made us open our eyes at the Toronto convention, when he told us of digging bees out of banks 9 feet deep, and for once at least we were thankful to be so far north as to escape such rigorous weather. The vagaries of the weather are in- deed wonderful, and our observatory at Toronto reports the mildest Novem- ber on record. The first week of De- cember was without a frost, and at that date pansies were still in bloom in some gardens. But it is cold today with a miniature northwest blizzard, so things will likely be normal from now Bees had a fine flight on Nov. 22, and during the first three days of December they could have gotten out if necessary. Very few came out, although the ther- mometer went to 5U degrees— pretty good evidence that they were in no need of a flight. The chances are that they will not have another flight until late in March; but here we think noth- ing of the bees being housed up four months, provided the stores are good and the bees are given good protection. Ontario ConventionCleaning Entrances of Snow The 1913 convention of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association is past. As anticipated, the attendance broke the records, and the interest was main- tained until the close of the last ses- sion. From over the line we had Messrs. House and Clark of New York State, and Editor E. R. Root, of Me- dina, Ohio. Considerable attention was given to the subject of co-opera- tion, and while little actual work was done in the way of devising plans for a more effectual organization for sell- ing our product, yet the discussion on the subject cannot help but be educa- tional. Even if no immediate steps are taken, the work done may bear fruit in the future. The great question to solve in undertaking work of any extent in the line of co-operation, is the financing of the scheme. That question must be settled before any effective work can be done. Some notes of the proceedings of the convention were taken by the writer, and at some future time I hope to give a brief synopsis of some of the best things at the meeting. Most of the discussions were along the lines of actual work in the summer time, and thus most of the good things can be given at a more seasonable time. This reminds me that the month of January is a month above all others in which there is "nothing doing" with the bees in our northern latitudes. If one has warm honey houses to work in, comb scraping and all like work can be done at this time; but as we have no stoves in any of our bee build- ings, that work is left until warni days in April, when we always have time to get the work done before the rush of the season starts. The snow problem will present itself in many localities in January. In my own case I let all pile around the hives that chooses to drift there. We have quilts over the frames, and all winter the cases have an air-space between packing and cover of outside case. If I used sealed covers over the frames, pos- sibly we would have to be more careful of the snow, but as I^Jdo^notjwant the sealed covers, I let the snow go, and can see no bad results from it. On the contrary, I often wish for snow, for in the counties bordering on lake Ontario our snowfall is very often light, while north lUO miles, where we have another yard, the hives will be completely cov- ered. But I want the snow away in time for the first flight in March, and after that period I consider it danger- ous to have the hives covered again for any length of time. Snow falling in spring is heavy and wet, and with brood-rearing going on it is dangerous. -#-•-♦ Dr. Miller's Crop It will now be in order for Dr. Miller to get out a new edition of his book, so as to tell us how that big crop was harvested. Really, though, that great yield is only described by one word, " magnificent." After making all al- lowance for the very best management, good bees, good supplies, etc., what a wonderful flow there must have been! While Ontario is a fine honey country one year with another, yet I never get any of those prolonged flows like they do in Illinois and some other States. Very often our best crops are harvested inside of two weeks, and rarely do we get a flow of four weeks from clover. In some sections of Ontario the yield was prolonged this year, but with us, although the crop was good, clover yielded less than four weeks. Con- gratulations Doctor, and may you get 366 sections per colony next year. And while congratulating the Doctor on his great crop, let us not forget that in Miss Wilson he has an able helper. Who knows just how much of the credit of this big yield must be attri- buted to her ? Personally, "the woman in the case " deserves a lot of credit for the crop Ave harvested, and I sus- pect a great many other beekeepers would have to confess the same thing. Shall We Encourage Bnginners? One thing was very much in evidence at our late convention in Toronto. This was that at present there is a lot of extracted honey still unsold in On- Mr. Johnson, OK Wehster, Iowa. . 800 pounds out of a crop of lioi pounds harvested from 6 co Ionics m 1913. January, 1914. American Hee Journal 15 tario. One remedy proposed is that more produce comb honey. While this advice is excellent, the change will not be made in a hurry. The writer feels that while all efforts should be made to organize and in other ways assist the present producers, it is time, if ever, for a more conservative program when influencing more to go into the business. In other words, a curtail- ment of production should be the slogan rather than efforts to produce more honey. This is not selfish, but only common " horse sense," and I be- lieve the rank and file of the producers are a unit with me on this matter. Without our western market where would we be this year? And it is well to remember that much as we appre- ciate honey as food, yet after all it is not considered a >teccssi/y by the great mass of consumers. There is such a thing as over development of any indus- try, and I honestly believe that the honey business here in Ontario is dan- gerously near that point just at present. Don't be afraid to criticize if you don't agree with me. Convention <^ Proceedings Glimpses from the New York State Beekeepers' Convention BY F. GREI.N'ER. An animated beekeepers' convention, which was well attended, was held in Rochester, N. Y., on Dec. 2 and 3. The reader might be interested in some of the discussions held and addresses de- livered, and if I may be allowed, I will here mention some interesting features as they occurred. As to setting and maintaining the price of honey, it was stated by Mr. S. D. House, that in Canada they had successfully settled that question. Crop reports were gathered all over the land by the beekeepers' society, and a special committee then decided what the price should be for the season. So success- ful had they been that even the whole- sale dealers had been abiding by these decisions. The association voted to give this method a trial. In a general discussion about cap- ping melters, it was brought out that it was best to allow cappings to drain for a day or more, and then use a capping melter. Mr. E. R. Root said that honey should not be left long in contact with hot wax. Some used a water-jacketed boiler to melt the cappings, the same being provided with a spout allowing honey and wax to escape as fast as it had melted suflSciently. Mr. Baldridge, from Kendaia, uses such a one at the close of the day's work. That it is a necessity for the exten- sive beekeeper to keep a record of each colony is disputed by few. Mr. Case utilizes broken sections for the purpose. A piece of tin is nailed to the side of each hive, forming a pocket, as it were ; this receives the piece of section and protects it from the rains, etc. This pocket must be of the right depth so as to leave the piece of section protruding just a trifle. Why so much difference in the yields of different colonies was explained by Mr. G. S. Demuth, from the Depart- ment of Entomology at Washington, D. C, in a very novel way. Four fac- tors, he said, were responsible for the differences in honey yield in different seasons and with different colonies. First, source of the nectar; secondly, weather conditions ; thirdly, number of ceded by the majority that the workers of such a strain should be golden all over except the extreme tip end of the body. A few others held that a bee possessing three or four golden bands might claim the distinction " Goldens " as against the leather-colored strain of Italians. Markings of other bees were dis- cussed. It was shown that there was very little difference between brown or black bees (Carniolans, Banats and Caucasians). Mr. Root said even ex- perts were often puzzled. Before adjournment it was decided to hold a special meeting at Cornell farmers' week in February, and the next regular meeting in Syracuse dur- ing December, 1914. Naples, N. Y. •*-•-*■ Quebec Meeting of Beekeepers workers in the hive ; fourth, public sentiment for storing (storing instinct must be dominant). Mr. Demuth com- pared the conditions to a game of dice. Imagine, he said, each condition to be represented by one of the little cubes, the six sides of each numbered from one to six; cast them on the table; you may imagine that the aces may come up on all four, but it is rarely to be ex- pected. When it happens in beekeep- ing you have a bumper crop. Only the third and fourth factors enumerated are under the control of the apiarist, and the more successful he is in keeping the conditions right the better the results. It is probable there will always be a lack of uniform- ity in results with most beekeepers. The breeding of a bee which has the storing instinct to an intensified de- gree, he recommended. In the following discussion Mr. House and Mr. Dines, from Camillus, N. Y., championed their sectional hive, asserting that with such a one it was much easier to manage to bring about that contentment within the hive nec- essary for storing the greatest amount of surplus. Shall extracted honey be retailed in the granulated form was the ne.xt sub- ject, and Mr. C. B. Howard held that granulated honey should be so sold, kept for sale in the manner as cheese is sliced off from blocks in quantities wanted. Mr. E. R. Root showed granulated honey put up for retail trade in paper cartons, weighing about 1 54 pounds, something which would fill the bill it would seem. He stated that to cut up granulated honey into squares of the desired size, the tin was stripped from the honey, or, if in barrels, the staves were taken down, then by means of tightly stretched wires the block of solid honey was cut up. Mr. Root said : " You cannot cut honey, soap, tallow, etc., with knives, but taut wires will do it. When the honey is in proper shape the cubes are wrapped in paraffine paper and slid into the cartons. It may be called honey-spread or honey-but- ter. Comb honey may also be put up in cartons, but must be left to drain for 24 hours after being cut up into squares." In the question-box a standard for goldens was demanded. It was con- The annual meeting of the associa- tion of beekeepers of the province of Quebec, took place in the Government offices at Montreal, Nov. 2. About a hundred members were present. Dr. Emery Lalonde presided. After the reading of the minutes the following officers were elected : Honorary Chairman — J. E. Caron, Minister of Agriculture. Chairman — Dr, Emery Lalonde. Vice-Chairman — A. L. Beaudin. Secretary-Treasurer— A. O. Comire. The financial statement showed re- ceipts from the Government grant $200, and from membership dues $126. After paying the year's expenses there was a balance in the treasury of $37.tjl. Statistics concerning the production of honey in the province were fur- nished by the Minister of .Agriculture. The latter complained that the associa- tion had failed to furnish such full in- formation as was necessary concerning crops. To this it was replied that the association covered too large a terri- tory to be able to furnish full statistics. A request was made to the Govern- ment for a continuation of the annual grant, and that it be increased to $300. The Government was also asked for an allowance of $1000 for the purchase of Italian queens. It was decided to ask for a change in the inspection law to increase the power of the inspectors, to forbid the keeping of bees in hives with immov- able combs, to prevent the importation within the province of infected bees or implements, and to increase the fine for infractions of the law concerning the spraying of fruit trees during bloom. Lectures were afterwards given by Mr. Morley Pettit, Provincial Apiarist of Ontario, L. M. Grignon, Chas. Pelo- quin, and Mr. Beaulne, Assistant Ento- mologist of the Ottawa Experimental Farm. On the second day, lectures were given by T. C. Magan, Michel Dufault, and J. F. Prud'homme. An exhibit of honey, both comb and extracted, was made, and prizes given to the following e.xhibitors : L. J. Comire, Vincent Benoit, and A. L. Beaudin. In the afternoon, Mr. Harry Jones exhibited cages for shipping bees by the pound. Mr. Beaulne gave a con- 16 January, 1914. American Hee Journal ference on outdoor wintering, such as is practiced at the Ottawa Experimen- tal Farm. i\Ir. J. A. Vaillancourt, of Montreal, gave a talk on the sale of honey and the best methods of pack- ing it. The meeting ended with a report of .•\. O. Comirt', inspector, on the work of inspection during the past season. A vote of thanks was offered to the dififerent speakers, and the meeting adjourned. Minnesota State Beekepers' Meeting Increasing interest in the art of pro- ducing honey by the Minnesota bee- keepers could bL- readily recognized on entering the hall occupied by the Minnesota Beekeepers' Association on Dec. 3. About 100, which included many ladies, was the average attend- ance of the sessions for two days. Beekeepers of the fair sex took promi- nent part in the meeting. Both the small beekeeper and spe- cialist were there to profit by the num- bers on the program, which were all ably presented. That one can learn to produce honey in carload quantities with a few years' experience and per- sistent effort, was shown by Mr. E. L. Hoffman, of Janesville, who held the attention of the convention, telling " How My Bees Produced 30 Tons of Extracted Honey this Season." In about 600 colonies of bees, swarming was almost entirely prevented by proper manipulation, and some 4000 sheets of Langstroth size foundation drawn out. The energetic and intelli- gent beekeeper can get the crop, but a vast amount of work is required to produce results, and actually prevent swarming with the use of the Lang- stroth and smaller sized hives. Beekeepers are eager to see sweet clover grown in their locality, but it is only by being tactful that they can in- duce their neighbor farmers to grow it. Let the farmer know its value as a fertilizer and forage crop. After in- teresting his neighbor and distribut- ing Farmers' Bulletin, No. 14.5, on Sweet Clover, of the United States De- partment of Agriculture, R. F. Hall, of New .'\uburn, Minn., was enabled to sell all the sweet clover seed that he could produce. Sweet clover seems to be more valuable in the central States than alfalfa. It is still on the list of obnoxious weeds in Minnesota, but this will soon be rectified, and with a new bulletin on clovers, which will soon be out, sweet clover will be offi- cially placed where it belongs, above both timothy and red clover in value as a forage. Minnesota beekeepers, and beekeep- ers in general throughout this country, have been leading a movement for ed- ucation and experimentation in their respective States. Those in charge of the State Agricultural Station recog- nize this, and are making every effort to respond to the demands of the peo- ple. Quarters to house the new de- partment of apiculture in beekeeping are being prepared. Announcement is made by Prof. Francis Jager, that the week beginning Jan. 19, is scheduled for the first free short course in beekeep- ing in the Farm School. This is open to persons of any age wishing to broaden their knowledge of beekeeping, and everyone can be assured in advance of useful instruction to be given by Father Jager, whose apiary is a model one and whose ideas are progressive. The Experiment Station will take immediate steps for the improvement of the races of bees, particularly with the Carniolans. Best wishes for your efforts. Prof. Jager. Your idea of too small quarters usually afforded the Car- niolan queen is well taken. About 40 years ago Charles Dadant threw aside the Langstroth sized hive for one with 40 percent larger brood-chamber to accommodate the capacity of the Ital- ian bee, which saved him e.xcessive manipulation and double decked bodies. An e.xperimental bee-cellar arranged to absorb and evaporate the moisture which collects in the form of a heavy frost inside the cellar, will be tried this winter by Dr. L. D. Leonard, of Min- neapolis, the present secretary-treas- urer of the Minnesota Beekeepers' As- bSmoL^ ■ ^ 1^' ' "'■ -, — ' U^^^ ^.^^^^jjc; HJIpf^ . Ryi^ ^Pj^ >i^v,-V^ ^SbSI'^ ^r I ^ -;^^r^^^*- ^ sociation. Information concerning the best methods of wintering in Minne- sota would be of benefit to its bee- keepers. The State Fair e.xhibit as an adver- tising and educational medium is prob- ably quite as valuable as the contest for prizes. A larger allowance for prizes has been recommended by Mr. Scott La Monte, Superintendent of the Apiary Department of the State Fair Board. The large and first-class ex- hibits this year deserve more recogni- tion in the way of bigger prizes. The organization of a Honey Ex- change is urged by L. F. Sampson, of ILxcelsior, whose experience in selling his fruit crop in that way has been very satisfactory. Honey, however, does not appear to the consumers in general as almost a necessity, so the demand for honey is lighter than for fruits. The producer with a retail trade of his own will not turn over his crop to a Honey E.xchange, even though it may be a properly conducted co- operative association.. Minnesota beekeepers appreciate the services of their State inspector, J. A. Holmberg, 1241 Edgerton St., St. Paul, His last report may be secured by send- ing to the above address. Mr. P. J. Doll, President; Mr. Scott La Monte, 1st Vice-President ; and Mr. L. V. Rodecker, 2d Vice-President, were re-elected as officers of the asso- ciation. Dr. L. D. Leonard was elected Secretary-Treasurer. Executive Committee: P. J. Doll, C. A. Palmer. L. F. Sampson, L. V. Bo- decker, and L. C. Pilcher. Meeting of Michigan Beekeepers' Association R. F Hall, of Nkw Auiuikn. Minn. Mr. Hall is a sweet clover enthtisias t who has interested his neighbors and inlUienced thcni to erow it for profit. Incidentally it helps his bees. Notice the sweet clover back of the hives. Mr. Hall read a paper on " Sweet Clover " at the Minneapolis meeting. The Michigan Beekeepers' Associa- tion held their meeting at the Y. M. C. A. Building in Detroit on Dec. 10 and 11. This was an enthusiastic meeting, and the excellent program arranged by the President and Secretary left noth- ing to be desired. In his address, Pres. Jenner E. Morse urged the convention to take steps to secure more members for the associa- tion. There is no doubt that the greatest progress can be made only by the co-operation of all the beekeepers in the State. Mr. L. S. Griggs, of Flint, talked on how he produced and sold comb honey. Mr. Griggs produces both comb and extracted honey, and is as successful a beekeeper as can be found in the State. ^Iany subscribers will recog- nize Mr. Griggs' address as that of our old friend, W. /. Hutchinson. In fact, Mr. Griggs purchased Mr. Hutch- inson's apiary shortly after his death, and is meeting with great success. The convention was entertained by lantern slides on the subject of " Pol- lenization." Prof. R. H. Pettit. of Lan- sing, gave views of the bees at work on different flowers. The process of carrying pollen from one flower to an- other, either on the abdomen or back of bees, was plainly shown. Mr. E. B. Tyrrell, Secretary of the National Beekeepers' Association, gave an address on " Imagination as Applied to the Bee Business." Mr. Tyrrell's January, 1914. 17 American Vae Journal pictures were for the beekeeper who was in the least inclined to build air castles. Migratory beekeeping was es- pecially mentioned in his talk. The association was especially fortu- nate in having with them Mr. J. P. Munson, of the Michigan Horticultural Society. Mr. Munson, in his talk, showed plainly the difficulties that be- set the fruit grower when spraying his trees, and in return asked that the bee- keepers teach why the fruit grower should have consideration for bees. There was no room left for doubt that the bees cannot puncture fruit, and that they were necessary for the pol- lenation of fruit flowers. Michigan is especially fortunate in just starting on this subject, the ad- dress was listened to with great inter- est. The Ontario Beekeepers' Asso- ciation has nearly 1500 members, and the audience was told how these mem- bers were secured, and what the work at the Ontario Agricultural College was doing for the students in college. It was very much regretted by the beekeepers present that Mr. Ira D. Bartlett could not be at the convention, but a short paper by him was read on "Wintering Bees Out-of-Doors." The subject assigned to Mr. Bartlett was "Wintering Bees on Summer Stands." but Mr. Bartlett's experience has been wholly with wintering bees in clusters of four, and not simply on the original summer stands. Mr. D. Running, of Filion, Mich., gave a very interesting talk on his method of wintering bees in cellars, and also gave a description of a cellar he has built for the express purpose of wintering all his colonies. There is no doubt that in his location cellar wintering is the best method of carry- ing bees through the winter. The editor of the Beekeepers' Review, Mr. Townsend. talked on " The Pro- duction of Extracted Honey." As stated in the Review a few months ago, Mr. Townsend and his sons practice wintering their bees with a shallow super full of honey just above the brood-chamber. This extra supef is for the purpose of ensuring plentiful stores up until apple bloom, and even until white clover yields in the spring. The meeting of the association will be held at the Michigan Agricultural College in Lansing, Mich., next year. A. H. Guernsey, of Ionia, Mich.. With a runaway swarm. The swarm was found on a limb lii inches through. 40 feet from the ground. It had combs 2 feet long and 13 inches deep. The bees were safely- captured and taken to a photograph gal- lery and afterward exhibited on the streets for several hours. having secured the sevices of Mr. F. E. Millen as State Inspector of Apiaries. His address to the convention on the subject of " Cause, Treatment and Eradication of Foul Brood " was ex- cellent. Mr. Millen has had consider- able experience with foul brood, and we are sure that if the beekeepers give him the required assistance the war on foul brood in Michigan will succeed. Mr. A. G. Woodman, of Grand Rap- ids, in showing various beekeepers' appliances, gave a description of his new combined section folder and foun- dation fastener. This little machine gives promise of being a winner among beekeepers who produce comb honey. Mr. Woodman showed how top and bottom starters could be put in a sec- tion all at one operation. Most foun- dation fasteners put the foundation on one side of the section only, but this machine places it on two sides, top and bottom, with exactness. Beekeeping in the colleges was the subject of the address by Prof. Morley Pettit, of Guelph, Ont. As Michigan is The Missouri Meeting at Excelsior Springs The meeting of the Missouri bee- keepers at this famous resort, on Dec. Ill and 17, 1913, proved very efficient. Important steps were taken. The mem- bership fee has thus far been only -jO cents, but it was decided that more funds were needed both for paying ex- penses and with a view to incorporate so as to form a permanent organiza- tion simibr to the Agricultural and Horticultural associations. The fee was raised to $1.00. A committee was appointed to consider incorporation and securing an appropriation from the State Legislature, for the purpose of publishing the proceedings and all im- portant information in the fight against diseases, also for co-operation in secur- ing better prices for honey. A revision of the constitution was also contem- plated. Interesting papers were read by E. E. Lawrence, Clay Foley, H. C. Gadberry, Dr. A. D. Wolfe. W. T. Gary, and C. C. Clemons. The latter gentleman ter- rified his audience by facetiously pro- ducing an enormous roll, which pur- ported to be an address, but turned out to be blank paper. His address, which was excellent, treated of the experi- ences of the commission merchant and of the best methods of grading honey for the market. The editor of the American Bee Journal gave a half hour talk on bee- keeping in Europe. The president, J. W. Rouse, gave con- siderable information concerning foul brood and the failure to secure a law by only one vote of minority. He urged the beekeepers to do as was done in Illinois in a similar circumstance, write to their representatives individ- ually and demand their support of the measure. The attitude of the conven- tion indicated that very strenuous ef- forts will be made in this direction at the next session of the Missouri Legis- lature. A resolution was passed granting to the secretary 2b percent of the member- ship dues as an indemnity of his labors. The association nominated the city of Columbia as the next place of meeting, subject to the decision of the executive committee. Resolutions were passed in favor of a course in beekeeping at This apiary produced 2000 pounds of comb honey for its owner in 1913. Johnson, of Postville. Iowa. It belongs to Ed. J. January, 1914. American Ve^ Journal the Agricultural College of Missouri. At the suggestion of Mr. Gadberry, a committee was appointed to ask the Board of Agriculture for an increase of the present premiums at the State Fair, to at least $500: in view of the fact that the State of Minnesota gives over $1000 for that purpose. The election of officers resulted as follows: President, J. W. Rouse; Vice- President, H. C. Gadberry ; Secretary- Treasurer, J F. Diemer. Such meetings are very pleasant and exceedingly useful. But they should be more fully attended. Instead of 2.5 or 30, there should be 1.50 beekeepers in attendance. Those who fail to attend do not realize how mucli they miss. Notes From ^ Ab r oad Traveling Through France f BY C. P. DADANT. WE left Paris on July 14, which, as explained before, is the same as our American 4th. We wanted to avoid the crowds and get a good night of sleep. The streets were filling, the flags swinging, and the soldiers marching towards the field of Longchamps, for the annual parade. We turned our backs on all this and took a train, via Reims, for Grandpre, in northeastern France. The surroundings of Paris are beautiful, and on the way we ad- mired the avenues, the gardens, the groves, which show training beyond our American ways. Wife had no idea of the curious shapes into which trees may be trained and trimmed, and of the possibility of having shaded ave- nues in which not a single limb is al- lowed to extend farther than the others to the distance of 6 inches. The trip from Paris to Reims, 98 miles, was made in 2 hours. But be- yond that, we were in a local train which made 20 stops, and took exactly 2K hours to cover 40 miles. This was commented upon by an American traveler, who remarked that if they had kept on at the same rate as at first, they would have run clear out of France, into Belgium, before the time was up. Grandpre (see the cuts) is on a hill- side, crowded together as are most European villages, with the church in the center and the inevitable castle on the hill overlooking the village. The church, of the 16th century, contains the tombs of the dukes De Joyeuse. At the station house a limping, old man, pushing a wheelbarrow in front of him, offered to guide us to the hotel. As there are two hotels in this small place, there is a little competition, and our porter secured a glass of wine as a reward from the landlady, for guiding us to the hotel Didion, the farthest house in the rear of the picture below the castle. The old lady, a kindly look- ing, bearded woman, informed us that the price of her best room, with two beds was 1 franc .50, or 30 cents. The meals were .50 cents each. This we thought rather high in a country place, but when dinner was served, with six courses, in a quaint dining-room all to ourselves, we thought it cheap enough. If the reader will refer to the Sep- tember account of our voyage, he will see that our trip to Grandpre was for '■the purpose of visiting the birth place [Sof my wife's mother, and if possible [.'ascertain whether there were any rela- ': fives of hers still living there. So, after our meal, we called the hostess and began asking questions. She directed us, at our request, to one of the oldest ladies in the village, and we were soon informed that we still had in this village two second cousins. All doubts were removed when, upon further enquiry, we were told by the cousins in question that they had heard their grandmother say that she had relatives in America who kept a large lot of bees. The family pictures were brought out ; we e.xhibited some which we had brought ourselves, and this made matters clear. It was over 20 years since any correspondence had been exchanged, and the old folks were all dead. But the acquaintance was joyfully renewed, with much won- der on their part that any one should come so far to seejrelatives. The rest of that day was spent in meeting French_peasants, visiting their homes, their pretty gardens, narrow lanes, green paths and white roads. When evening came, our expected restful night was apparently jeopar- dized by a ball on the public square shown in the picture, right in front of the hotel, exactly in the same fashion as the free-for-all balls of the Paris celebration. We realized then that the whole of France had a dancing floor that night wherever a smooth public square was found. But at 11 o'clock it rained, and this put an end to the ball, so we had a peaceful night after all. I reported in the September number visiting a beekeeper, who is also a candle-maker in that village. His skill is remarkable in making beautiful white wax candles, with fine wax orna- ments that resemble leaves and blos- soms, mouldings, etc. ; the whole thing with the help of only a few tools of his own devising. But is this any more wonderful than the hand carving of the magnificent stone sculptures so delicate and gauze like that we saw everywhere in the Old World ? This man's bees are in his back lot, a pretty vegetable garden surrounded, as usual, with old mossy walls. Every inch of available space is in use, the walls even being latticed, and fruit- trees trained and fastened to the trellis. The production of e.xtracted honey is almost universal there, and he uses our half-stor) method of extracting supers. Our name was very familiar to him, since he uses our hive. Their crops are not large, the yield being confined to some varieties of centaurea, bass- wood, a little alfalfa and white clover. In reply to my questions concerning the May disease, our so-called paraly- sis, he called it vertigo, and ascribed its existence to the honey of the "cen- taurea jacea." As this disease exists in difTerent countries with entirely different flora, I believe that opinion erroneous. His method of fastening foundation is rather remarkable. He uses in the brood frames a horizontal wire within a quarter inch (5 millimeters) of the underside of the top-bar. He holds very rationally that, since the greater part of the strain is supported by the upper portion of the sheet, it is this part which must be strengthened. As a rule, we place the top wire too low in the frame. He and most other manu- facturers work their foundation at home with a Rietsche press. It uses about twice as much wax as the cylin- ders. It does not seem profitable. After another day partly spent in this pretty village, and a visit to the old 0R»NDPR4(Af.l«iiii«>). . Voc ([.oir.lc. Bird's eye view of the old villak'e of Grandpre January, 1914. 19 American Tiee Jonrnall castle, we again took tlie train. This time we aimed to reach the city of my birth, old Langres. But a ride across country to the south would have neces- sitated our changing trains four times in as many hours. So we returned to Reims, where one of the main lines of the " Est " (eastern railroad) could be reached again. In this way we made but one change. We took advantage of the stop in Reims, where we spent the night, to visit the old cathedral, where the kings of France were usually crowned and anointed. It was there that Joan of Arc witnessed the crown- ing of King Charles VII, whom she had helped to regain his kingdom, in 1430. When you reach a strange city, it is always more or less of a problem to make sure of a good reasonable-priced hotel. But we had none of this trou- ble during our trip. Upon our arrival in France, our good friend and prudent adviser, Mr. Crepieux-Jamin, provided us with a letter of introduction to the "Touring Club De France," of which he is one of the oldest members and representatives. By his instructions we called at the offices of this famous organization, 65 .Avenue de la Grande .'\rmee, Paris, presented our creden- tials, and in 1-5 minutes we were sup- plied with a card of membership, a ■pretty badge, three guide books, giving the names and address of the best hotels in each city of France and of the countries that we were about to visit, with prices of rooms, meals, etc. ; lists of automobile garages, addresses of machinists, with prices of repairs agreed upon for either automobiles or bicycles, a list of the places of interest in each city or around it, of the local dishes and beverages of each place, etc. All this for the insignificant sum of !• francs 50 ($1.90). The price of the subscription without guides is only $1.00, and they give in addition a year of the monthly magazine entitled, "Touring Club De France." But this is not all. As a member one is entitled to discounts at many of the hotels, and the amount of discount with a copy of contract is mentioned in the Guide. Our card of member- ship which I have retained, since it is good for a year, bears the number 279,500. If you wish to travel in Eu- rope, by all means secure a membership in the " Touring Club De France." You may also join that of Switzerland, or of Italy, but do not miss the first, if you can secure proper credentials. It is a great satisfaction, when you reach a strange place, to be able to give to the railroad porter, who carries your baggage, the name of the hotel you have selected, to be sure that you can get a room such as you desire, in a re- liable house, at a stated figure, and not pay exorbitant prices for your meals. In addition, you are welcomed by the hotel manager as a member of a pow- erful fraternity of travelers. By the way, the hotel manager in Europe is usually a very pleasant lady; none of your .American hotel clerks who look upon you with disdain unless you wear the latest style of clothes and are ready to order the very best room. In fashionable hotels in America, I have sometimes been made to feel that the clerk was only condescending to permit me to remain, if 1 behaved. Don't understand me as intimating that all the hotel clerks are of that sort, but the best of them are hardly a atTable as the hotel people of the Old World. Another view of Grandpre, where Mr and Mrs. Dadant visited while in Europe. Contributed Articles^ The Chaff Hive BY DR. A. F. BONNEY. IN an early day before cellars for bees were invented, the chaff hive was in its glory; but because it was a bulky affair, being made of full one-inch lumber with 4 inches of space between walls, it was about as immovable as a house, and when bee- keepers began counting their colonies by the score, they looked about for something lighter. Notwithstanding the neglect accord- ed the chaff hive in years past, it is, I think, the only one for the farmer, small beekeeper in town, and, for that matter, the professional. As I am neither, I am in a position to judge, and with the farmer losing his few colonies every winter with the com- mon hive, the man with 50 or more trying to pack or cellar, and the big fellow with hundreds which are taken out in the spring to " spring dwindle," I think there can be no argument re- garding the necessity of some good, safe way to winter bees, and that way I know to be the chaflf hive, at any rate for the small beekeeper — to avoid argument. It must be remembered that Mr. Holtermann, of Canada, aban- doned a $1000 cellar to winter out-of- doors. Why does he not use chaff hives ? I suppose he has a thousand of the others. Very few beginners have ever seen such a home for the bees, and a small description of it may not be amiss. Briefly, a chaff hive has spaces pro- tected by four walls, each packed with some porous material, as chaflf, from which the hive got its name; the finer parts of shredded cornstalks, which the writer " discovered ;" ground corncobs, first recommended by the Root people, I think; planer shavings, e.xcelsior, or even straw. The object in packing is to break up the confined air into small spaces, and thus prevent it from circulating. There is nothing inherently "warm " in either of them. If one lives adjacent to a timber he will find dry forest leaves one of the very best things to pack with. But these packed walls are, I believe, of secondary importance to the pro- tection given the top of the hive, for no matter how warm the walls, if the top of the hive is cold, or if there be an escape of heat upwards, the bees will suffer; so when you combine the packed cover, sides and ends you have something approaching the bees' nat- ural home in a hollow tree, a water- proof cavity, open at the bottom, which is, above, practically air tight, and with an entrance vastly larger than ever given by man, which, I think, tends to give hardier bees. Moreover, there is but little danger that this en- trance will ever become clogged by dead bees. There are at the present time but three chaff hives on the market, and those are put out by the Woodman Co., the Root people, and the Falconer Company. The first mentioned has an outer shell of -'4 -inch lumber, and an inner of ;'s. There is what is called a winter rim, which, like the cover, sets in a rabbet, flush with the walls of the brood-chamber. It has the old "chaff tray," which I never use, putting my packing in the winter rim on top the January, 1914. American ?ae Journal super cover instead, while it may be put into sacks and used year after year. There are two holes in the cover, in the ends, for "the escape of mois- ture," but these I plug with corks, as 1 do not believe we can have an upward escape of moisture without a corres- ponding loss of heat. However, this is not said to excite discussion. The Root hive has a thicker packed space than the others, but has a thin fi-inch outer wall and no handles, or at least had none some months ago. They use the chaff tray, and must, for the cover telescopes over the tray and brood-chamber. The great objection to this hive was removed when, at my suggestion, they made a loose bottom for it. It may be well to state that the Root people winter a thousand colo- nies of bees in chaff hives in Medina; they so wrote me a year ago. 2^The Falconer hive is very similar to the others, but instead of lock or dove- tail joints the walls are fastened to four corner posts. ■ If given a choice between dovetail hives for out-of-door wintering and putting the bees in a cellar, I'll take either of these hives, because being warm the bees begin breeding early, earlier than in the cel- lar. Of course, some more stores may be used, for you cannot have fire with- out fuel, and it may be that up to the first of June not much more feed will be required in the chaff hive than in the cellar, and not so much when re- sults are considered. Remember there is no setting bees out of a cozy, warm cellar into the changing April weather to dwindle away. Also, they are cooler in summer without shading, and do not require as much ventilation as the dovetail, while I use an abundance, olf evidence of the value of the chaff hive were lacking, I had it and to spare in the spring of 1913. I had in 1912 lost about all my bees from total lack of clover and other pasture, combined with a dreadful drouth, and the colo- nies I had in the spring of 1913 were mere handfuls of bees the first of May, but these same colonies gave me an average of 300 pounds to the colony. This was due, of course, to the tre- mendous flow of nectar, but under any other conditions than the chaff hive I would have had no bees to get it. All these chaff hives have, I believe, entrances that are too small. More- over they are apt to clog with dead bees. If the entrance blocks were put in upside down, it would give more space for dead bees to accumulate, but with (J inches of good, dry packing on top the brood-chamber and the walls packed, a |ix3-inch entrance is none too large to ensure pure air in the hive. Protect this entrance from mice with wire-mesh if necessary, using the kind the masons do to sift sand through. If, 40 years ago, the chaff hive had been cheaper than the dovetail or box hive, there would probably be no other kind in use today, and while today the cost of the protected hive is but little more than the other, the slight addi- tional cost will still induce buyers to seek the cheaper line of goods, while the saving of one good colony would, in many cases, pay all the extra cost. I feel like telling prospective users of the chalT hives something the nianiv facturers do not, and that is that u.. joints in the hives should be laid in thick white lead to make them as near water tight as possible, then give the hives a good painting with white lead and linseed oil. I also advise the pur- chase, in the Bat, of one of each of the hives I have mentioned, so that you will be able to judge. I think it almost a waste of time and money to buy any- thing smaller than the Kl-frame size in either make. Use a metal-roofed cover, and in the winter a couple crate staples to hold the cover in place will prevent some worry. Finally, the entrance of the chaff hive ff;«,s7 be low enough to let all storm water drain off the bottom-board to the end that the hive remain dry. Buck Grove, Iowa. [We much prefer a long, shallow en- trance, too shallow for the mice to craw! through, to a 'i-jnch entrance with wire mesh small enough to keep the mice out. Bees will carry out almost anything that needs taking out through a long entrance, but the wire mesh is everlastingly in the way. A 5- 10th entrance, cut true, will keep out mice. — Editor.] Odors and Queen Introduction BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. THE article by Dr. Bruennich, in the American Bee Journal for November, places considerable emphasis on odor as of impor- tance in behavior of bees one to another. Until we have more definite and accurate data on the behavior of bees in the presence of known odors, it is almost idle to seriously discuss Apiary of K. OUushima. in .Japan. MK. K. OkUSHIMA, Clh .lAi'AN. Al WuKK. January, 1914. IM^rican Hee Jfonrnal I ^^ I ■ 11 I ■■■ IMIItB fm m,t—^^ the value of odors to them in determ- ining their actions. However, some observations of mine may be of inter- est, and perhaps help others in their work. Long ago, on discovering the true way bees obtain food from each other, which was exactly the opposite of what was universally taught and believed, I assumed that possibly some, perhaps many other teachings were equally wrong. As I was then particularly in- terested in queen behavior and intro- duction, I turned to the odor factor as a promising field for study. I soon be- came convinced that it did not play the important part assigned to it, and there followed the experiments which have resulted in the new method of intro- duction. From the already excellent results achieved by others as well as myself with that method, my unbelief was not without profit. Finding that I could introduce any queen to any colony, I proceeded to test odors on queens thus run in. Queens were anointed with all sorts of odors — as had previously been tried on marked workers and drones — and such queens were introduced by the above-mentioned method. Sometimes a queen would be introduced to half a dozen colonies the same day, and in other cases a queen would be reper- fumed and reintroduced to the same colony several times on the same or subsequent days. The results always sustained my belief in the negative im- portance of odor. Various perfumes, essential oils, saliva, tobacco juice, per- spiration, odors from the skin of horses and dogs and other things were used, and so long as these things did not cause physical discomfort to the queen, the bees seemed to be uncon- cerned by their presence on the queen. Perfumes (alcoholic extracts) essen- tial oils and some other substances caused quite apparent distress to the queen, the oils quickly causing death e.xcept when used in the most minute quantities. When distressed the be- havior of the queens was not normal, and as was to be expected their recep- tion by the bees varied widely. Though bees possess a most acute sense of smell it does not follow that the odor of the individual bee governs its reception by an alien colony. It seems more reasonable to think that the individual bee recognizes a colony odor different from the home odor, and is thereby caused to behave in such a way as to invite attack. And yet when some colonies have the combs with adhering bees separated, ' the combs being stood around against convenient objects as trees, buildings, etc., on being returned to the hive again in 10 or more minutes, a violent fight takes place between the bees of all the adjacent combs, until some- times a quarter or more of the whole colony is destroyed. Surely, the home odor had not evaporated from all those combs and the new ones been absorbed by them and the adhering bees. Odor fails to explain there. Dr. Bruennich's theory of the ol'd guardian bees being the trouble makers is not borne out in experiments, for with colonies so long queenless as to have laying workers, and with those more rare cases where after C, 8, or 10 weeks of queenlessness no such egg producers appear, and where, of course, all the bees are of the guard class, queens can be run in with perfect ease. I beg leave to interject here a bit of advice to the novice who may read this. To colonies so long queenless give a comb or two of emerging brood that proper nurses may be on hand to feed well the brood soon to appear from the eggs of the new queen. To what degree odor governs the behavior of one bee to another we may never know; but we do know that by ignoring this factor altogether and by merely getting the bees into a turmoil, we can do with queens what we never' could do when working on the odor theory. I do not hesitate to introduce by the new method any queen no matter how valuable she is, and regardless of whence she comes, either from near at hand or from far away. So uniformly successful is the procedure that I use no other, and never have the slightest anxiety as to the safety of any of them. Furthermore, I have found it possible to successfully introduce queens to colonies containing laying queens, and usually the reigning queen is displaced. Several factors are very evidently in- volved here, for the results are not yet uniform. I have been for some time studying to determine what are the factors, and I believe the time is near ViRiiiNiA Waterleaf Bloo.ming in Frank C. Pellett's Wild-flower Garden at Atlantic. Iowa. The Waterleaf is a Good Honey Plant. Blooming in Early Spring. January, 1914. American Vee Journal at hand when we shall regularly do our reijiiiiiu'tiir zuillioul dequeening. Providence, R. I. Shall We Encourage More Beginners ? liV FRANK C. I'ELLETT. ON page 274, of the November num- ber of the American Bee Jour- nal, Mr. Byer has an article en- titled, "Too Much Rosiness." From the trend of his remarks, I am inclined to the notion that he is of the number who would not encourage large numbers of persons to enter the business of honey production. Similar protests appear so frequently, that I am constrained to take the opposite view. While there are many who take too rosy views of things and offer too much encouragement, the tendency is entirely too much in the opposite direction. Find me a prosperous community anywhere and I will show you where there is much interest in the business in which the greater number of per- sons are engaged. Here in Iowa, the communities where fruit growing is profitable are where it is highly devel- oped. In my own county, there is hardly an up-to-date fruit grower en- gaged in the business on a commercial scale. Every farm has a few fruit trees ; and apples, and sometime other fruits, ' especially plums, are a drug on the local market in the fruit season. What surplus there is goes to market in any old package, and half of it rots in the grocery store. In several nearby coun- ties fruit growing receives much atten- tion; the profits of the orchards are published widely, and the fruit pre- pared for market in the best possible way. In those counties the orchards pay, and pay big. I know some of their owners personally, and know that they receive cash returns from their crops that make their stock-raising neigh- bors fairly green with envy. If wt expect beekeeping to be re- garded as a desirable occupation, we must not be afraid to say that it is so. On the other hand, every inducement must be offered to beginners to join the associations, attend the conven- tions and subscribe for the bee jour- nals. In my work as an inspector, I seldom find a man who is a reader of a bee journal who needs much help from me. They frequently have had no ex- perience with disease, and desire some instructions, but they are familiar with bees in general, and understand how to proceed with the directions given. It is the slovenly, back lot, box-hive beekeeper who takes a little honey to market in bad condition and sells it for a song, who spoils the market and makes conditions disagreeable. I know markets where the business beekeepers have been so persistent in educating the public in regard to honey that prices rule high, and when the slovenlv beekeeper brings his junk to town he cannot sell it at all without peddling it from house to house. In my opinion, if the business of honey production is to take rank along with other lines, we must always put the best side out, and educate the pub- lic until a man would be as much ashamed to keep bees in box-hives without attention as he would to farm as his grandfather did. Of course, we should always take pains to inform those interested of the fact that beekeeping is a science, and that it takes more brains to be a suc- cessful beekeeper than to succeed at most ordinary callings. The real facts should be stated freely and without re- gard to the number of persons who may become interested in beekeeping. In fact, I fully believe that the pros- perity of the profession will increase with the increasing interest. More people interested will call the business more prominently to public attention, and demand for the apiarists' products will be increased accordingly. Here in Iowa, our oldest and most success- ful beekeepers are most enthusiastic about interesting new men in the busi- ness, and it is the policy of the asso- ciation to bring the honey-producers' interests before the public as fre- quently and forcibly as possible. J. J. Wilder, of Georgia, is a conspic- uous example of what can be done with bees by the right man. The fact that there have been a thousand fail- ures, to one such conspicuous success, only emphasizes the fact that the limi- tations are limitations of the man, and not of the business. Of course, we all agree that there should always be a proper amount of caution as to what can reasonably be expected in the way of financial returns. To be afraid of enthusiasm about one's business for fear of possible competition, is to ad- mit our inability to meet competition. If the business of honey production had long been held up as one of the most desirable occupations, the bee- keeper would be looked up to, instead of sneered at. When even'body wants to keep bees, the public will awaken to the fact that it requires special skill to be successful, and skill always de- mands respect. Atlantic, Iowa. Comb Honey — Sections Well Filled BY J. E. HAND. ON page 383, is an article under the above heading by G. M. Doolit- tle, setting forth the undesirable features connected with the pei- fect filling of sections with hon- ey. I fully realize myperilous position in expressing views that run counter to those advocated by so able an ex- ponent of apicultural lore, and my dangerous habit of fearlessly express- ing by honest convictions regardless of who, or how many, ar& on the other side will perhaps result in disaster to my preconceived ideas, as usual. A casual reading of the article mentioned suggested the idea that it would per- haps have been more appropriate in the columns of a popular magazine, es- pecially since it contains no informa- tion for beekeepers, its chief office evidently being to instruct the house- wife how to select a section of honey, as well as instructing Bridget how to cut it out of the section without enough drip to pay for licking the knife. Assuming that Bridget and the house- wife are to be the judges in the discus- sion, I will begin by addressing a few remarks to Bridget; "Miss Malloy, begging your pardon, I notice you have a fine section of honey already to cut out of the wood. I also notice that the cells are capped solid to the wood, while the other one has a row of empty cells next to the wood all around it. Will you please tell me why you choose the well-filled one in preference to the other ?" " I choose the fat one, your honor, for the same reason that I would select a fat chicken instead of a lean one. We are going to have ' quality ' to dinner, and this section is whiter as well as fatter." Addressing the house-wife: "Mrs. Skinner, that is a very fine section of honey." " Oh, yes ; it will do very well for common use; but I don't like it be- cause of the row of empty cells clear around it, which presents an unfinished appearance, that of having been pulled too soon. We buy them by the piece, and when buying the fat ones I get full value for my money." Allowing Bridget and the house-wife to judge, Mr. l3oolittle has lost his case. If he objects to such a one-sided examination, permit me to suggest that it is as fair for me to draw on my imagination for facts as it is for him ; and I venture the assertion that nine intelligent women in ten will give about the same answer. There is another angle to the situa- tion that Mr. Doolittle has entirely overlooked, and it is the most impor- tant point of all. We are often com- pelled to ship section honey long dis- tances by freight in cold weather. Any one at all acquainted with the nature of empty combs in cold weather knows that a slight jar is sufficient to dislodge a section of honey having a row of empty cells aiound it. In fact, we never use a knife to remove such honey in cold weather, si.Tiply give it a tunk sidewise, and out it goes. On the contrary, a section of honey capped solid to the wood may be dropped flatwise upon a table in cold weather repeatedly without dislodging the contents. In fact, the colder the weather the more waxy the honey be- comes, and the more it will adhere to the wood, and the only way it can be removed is with a thin-bladed knife. This desirable feature enables us to ship such honey by freight and guar- antee safe delivery to any destination, whereas a sudden drop or jar sidewise might result in disaster to sections not well filled out and capped to the wood. Undoubtedly Mr. Doolittle is able to pack such honey so as to stand ship- ment reasonably well ; but others may not possess that knowledge, and the result will be disastrous in the hands of the inexperienced. I have had many section-honey trou- bles, but the least of them has been the fear that the bees would cap the ceils solid to the wood ; and if Mr. Doolittle has a lot of such honey, he is very fortunate, especially since it will com- mand the highest market price, stand shipment by freight, and please the purchaser upon arrival to its destina- tion. Since these three points include the January, 1914. 23 American Hee Journal most desirable features in section- honey production, I stoutly maintain that the perfect filling and capping of section honey is highly desirable. Since the perfect filling of sections is the ex- ception and not the rule, it would seem that the evils, so eloquently por- trayed by our worthy friend, are more imaginary than real ; and it seems un- generous to deprive Bridget of the privilege of licking the knife after cut- ting out a section of honey. Mr. Doo- little would go still further and deprive her of the pleasure of licking the plate after the " Quality " has consumed the honey. Oh, G. M. ! Birmingham, Ohio. -^♦^ Is It Necessary to Start Small To Be Successful? BY GEO. F. LE.STER. I HAVE read many articles advising beginners to start with one or two colonies, and build up as they get experience. But is it necessary ? 1 am not advising all beginners to start in on a large scale, but if a person has a "knack" for handling bees, to- gether with good common sense, and the help he can get from bee journals and books on beekeeping, I believe he can attain success. In January, 1909, I bought 40 colo- nies of bees in all kinds of hives, to- gether with 40 extracting bodies with drawn combs, extractor, tiO comb honey supers, etc., paying $200 for the outfit. I knew nothing about beekeeping, but sent for " Langstroth on the Honey Bee," subscribed for two bee journals and started in. Of course, I made plenty of mistakes, but did not make the same one twice. The winter had been warm and the bees were out of honey, so I had to feed from the start until June 15, when the alfalfa began to bloom. By this time they had built up good and strong. I ran them for extracted honey, and they made me $6 a colony. I increased to 00 by divid- ing, and did not lose any the next winter. The next year I had about the same 'The earmarks ' of a successful season. Mr. Lester believes that success can be attained through attention and perseverance. He uses this policy. luck. I ran for extracted honey mostly and increased to 90, introduced four dozen Banat queens that I got from Texas, and received about $450 for my honey. The next winter I only lost two col- onies, and in the spring bought 19 at a sale. As foul brood was getting so bad around the county, I decided to quit extracting and run for comb honey almost entirely. Last year was a very poor season, but I increased to 165 and harvested $900 worth of honey. This brings me down to the present year, 1913. Last year my bees were in three different places, and I put in so much time on the road that I decided to movethem all to one yard, and move out there and stay during the summer. This is the yard in the picture with my work tent in sight. My wife was called to Michigan, so I had to do my own cooking. She expects to be with me next summer. A very nice lay out for a " Beginnner." Mr. Geo. F. Lester in his apiary. Last winter was the coldest ever known here, the mercury going down to 35 degrees below, and as the bees were all wintered on the summer stands, it was hard on them. But I came through with only two dead, but had several weak ones, and when I got through doubling up I only had 150 left. The spring was cold and backward, and no honey from fruit bloom, so I had to feed from May 10 to June 10. This I did by making a flat trough 2 inches deep out of a plank (3 feet long and 12 inches wide. I spread a piece of burlap over this, filled a 5-gallon can with syrup and inverted it in the trough, letting it rest on two strips, so that the opening in the can was about '/i inch from the bottom of the trough. This made a self feeder, and the burlap kept the bees from drowning. I presume some people will ask, did you not feed a lot of your neighbors bees ? I sup- pose I did feed a few, but as it only took my bees two hours to empty the can, they did not get much, and what they did get was more than over-bal- anced by the good that the outdoor feeding did. I fed 5 gallons a day after I had divided all the honey in the hives, and had them practically clear of honey. The weather was getting warm, and the outdoor feeding made them build up rapidly so that when alfalfa started to bloom (June 10) my bees were in fine shape. As I had had poor luck getting good queens from queen breeders to start new swarms, I concluded to try and rear my own. This I did by the Doo- little method, and had good luck, get- ting as high as 30 out of 38 cells ac- cepted at one time. I used these for starting new colonies and for requeen- ing. I did my requeening in August. I would watch my queen-cells and see how many were accepted, and then go to the same number of hives and kill the old queens. In six or eight days I would put in a ripe queen-cell in a January, 1914. American ~B«e Jonrnal West protector. In one or two days the young queen would hatch and pro- ceed to tear down all cells that were started, and do a cleaner job than I could, besides saving the time going through those hives and cutting out the cells. I reared over 100 fine cells in one hive during the season, and got 10 su- pers of honey from the same hive, and did not have a queen in the hive from May 10 to Aug. l.'j. I kept from three to five frames of hatching brood in the hive all the time. I clip all my queens and mark tlie year in which they were clipped on the back of the hive. In this way I can tell just how old each queen is by look- ing on the hive. 1 have never had much trouble with swarming, but this year the bees all over this section got the fever, and how they did swarm! But it happened in August, during our heaviest honey- flow, so I did not try to hive any swarms. Instead, when a colony started to swarm, I would catch the old queen, put her in a cage and place it in front of the hive, and when the swarm had returned I would kill the old queen if I did not want to save her. If I did I would use her to re- queen some other colony. In six or seven days I would go through the hives that had swarmed, and cut out all queen-cells but one. In this way I did not lose much honey, and I have a young queen for next year. I have about 150 young queens out of 208, and most of the rest are only one year old. Of course I lost some in mating, but had young laying queens in small hives to replace those that were lost. This year I harvested 61.5 cases of finished comb honey and 25 cases (250 gallons) of extracted, increased to 280 colonies, did all my work alone, and only had 450 supers to do it with. Next year I expect to increase to 300. Is it necessary to start with one or two colonies to become successful ? I think not. Delta, Colo. midrib which they fixed to the wood at the center. That was all the fixing they would do, although they were fed and fed. Not a drop would they put around the edges where they had re- moved the honey to get at the midrib. The sections were finally taken oft'. Whenever a section happened to be turned over on its side, if not very careful, it broke away from the wood entirely. The sections could not be shipped at all without breaking, which, of course, would spoil them. Instead of having a beautiful lot of section honey, we had a lot of chunks of honey, neither comb nor extracted. To those who are at all fascinated with the short cut idea, I would say " go slow " or you may be sorry you cut your nice combs to pieces. Vernon, B. C. Short Cuts to Section Honey BY L. HARRI.S. IN the American Bee Journal for No- vember, I notice an article on page 37() by Dr. Bonney, on short cuts to section honey. Some years ago we secured a splendid lot of sec- tion honey. There was an excellent demand for it, and before the real honey selling began (in the fall) we had sold our whole product. We happened to have a beautiful lot of half-depth frames of sealed honey, and the idea occurred to us that we might be able to cut these up for sec- tion honey. Accordingly we made a form and placed a lot of these full sealed combs in sections and placed them on the colony which had been our best comb- honey producer. The sections looked nice when they were inserted ; all filled to the wood, and we were flattering ourselves on our good invention. But, alas ! we had forgotten to reckon with the bees. The first thing they did was to tear down the two rows of cells next to the wood, so as to get at the Beekeepers I Have Known— "Eugene Secor" BY FRANK C. PELLETT. AMONG the beekeepers of the mid- dle West, none is more widely known than Hon. Eugene Secor, of Forest City, Iowa, and if a man's true wealth is measured by the number of his friends, he is one of the richest men of my acqaintance. Mr. Secor has had his share of hon- ors, having been for a time a member of the Iowa legislature, and for several years postmaster at Forest City. At present he is a director of the Iowa State Horticultural Society, which so- ciety is supported by the State, and he has held many similar positions. Both beekeeping and horticultural pursuits attract high class men, and it is re- markable what a large percentage of Hon, Eugene Secor form- erly PRESIDENT OF THE NA- TIONAL Beekeepers' Asso- CIATON. those engaged in these pursuits are of the finer sort. Mr. Secor is both a beekeeper and a horticulturist, and has been for nearly half a century, all of this time making his home at "The Shelter," where he still resides. Of things horticultural, his greatest inter- est is in the peony, and he has written much concerning it, both for the pub- lications of the Iowa Horticultural Society and the various journals to which he is a contributor. Of late he has given considerable attention to the production of new varieties, and his efforts in this direction have not been without recompense, for among his creations are some promising new sorts. It is with Secor the beekeeper, how- ever, that this sketch has principally to deal. Those who have been regular attendants at the conventions of the National Association, all know Secor and his songs. A number of them have been set to music and sung at these conventions. Among them may be mentioned "The Hum of the Bees in the .'Vpple Tree Bloom," "The Bee- keeper's Lullaby," and "Buckwheat Cakes and Honey." The spirit of the man is well shown in the following extract from one of his poems, "When the Bees are Coming Home:" " What fools we .-nortals be! ' We fume and fret Because of life's unceasing round of toil, Permittinif gold our happiness to spoil. When love and service are the holy oil That blesses all the wealth we need to get. The soft, low hum that falls upon our ears As darkness creeps upon the glowing west, Is labor's song proclaiming that the best Of all that's good is found through daily quest — And duty leaves no time for useless tears. He has written poetry for many years, and not long since a little vol- ume of his poems was published by Successful Farming, of which his son Alson is editor. This volume is en- titled, " Verse for Little Folks and Others." The title fits the book all right, for the writer's 10-year old son, "Kent," reads the poems with much in- terest, while the writer himself has read the "Bobtail Rooster" and the "Pumpkin-Seed Calf" so many times that they bid fair to be committed to memory. Although a beekeeper for nearly 50 years, Mr. Secor is very modest, and must be urged to take a place on the program of a beekeepers' convention, saying that he feels like one who is merely playing with bees. How often it is thus, that those best fitted to teach are slowest to recognize the merit of their own offerings. I cannot refrain from quoting a few lines from another of his poems en- titled, " About a Bee :" " Here's a bee, my children see, Gathering sweets for you and me. On Sir Dandy Lion's crown She is yellow tiiat was brown; Yellow with the golden dust Lent to her in solemn trust; Blossoms bartering gold for gold Through this dusty trader bold. Dandy Lion seeks a bride. Sends his offering far and wide By his trusty friend the bee. And with honey pays the fee," No one not a naturalist as well as a beekeeper could write such lines as these, and also the following taken from the next verse : " Hairy legs are good for bees. Therefore she has six of these; She has baskets on her knees 'i" carry bread for baby bees," It is manifestly impossible to write about Secor the beekeeper as other than the beekeeper's poet. His love for bees, like his love for birds and flowers, finds expression in verse, and I am not sure but life to him is a glad sweet song. Though shadows have crossed his path, and some of them very deep ones, he seems always able to see the silver lining of every cloud. Since the death of Mrs. Secor, his com- panion for many years, he remains in his old home with his daughter, "Miss Nina," who is like her father in many ways, and the two find much that is good in life together. It is not the writer's disposition to envy any man, for he is well content with his own lot. Were it given, how- ever, to choose the results of another's life work, he would not take the for- tune of Rockefeller, nor yet the glory of Dewey's warfare, nor vet the honors January, 1914. American Hee Journal of Taft or Roosevelt. More to be de- sired, it would seem, is f'ugene Secor's remarkable life time harvest of friend- ship. Atlantic, Iowa. Comb or Extracted Honey ? BY DR. C, C. MILLER. IT is a common thing for a beginner to ask the question : " Can I make more money on extracted honey than on comb ?" With the expecta- tion of an immediate reply, Yes or No. It is not a question to be an- swered offhand in that way. A num- ber of things must be taken into con- sideration, and then it will generally be left for the beginner to decide for himself, perhaps after a little experi- menting with both kinds of honey. There are e.xperienced and success- ful beekeepers who produce extracted honey. That is a pretty clear proof that they find extracted more profitable than comb. But there are also experi- enced and successful beekeepers who produce only comb. Just as clearly they think comb more profitable for them. It may be well to mention some of the items that are factors in the case. Other things being equal, comb honey may well have the preference, because it brings a higher price, perhaps a half more. On the other hand it is gener- ally believed that about a half more ex- tracted than comb can be produced. Some, however, say that with them the difference is not so great as to the amount produced. Possibly the loca- tion may have something to do with this. Then, too, there are localities where a pound of extracted brings nearly if not quite as much as a pound of comb. In some regions the flow of nectar is of short duration, but comes in a flood while it lasts. In others the flow is light but long continued. The former is favorable for comb, the lat- ter for extracted. In some places there is a prejudice in favor of comb honey ; in some places it is the other way. The bee- keeper must, at least to some e.xtent, cater to the wishes of his customers. Where the harvest is mostly of dark honey of strong flavor, the preference is for extracted honey, for such honey may be sold for baking and other pur- poses, while lighter honey is desired for sections. Perhaps this may not apply to the same degree where bulk- comb honey is produced. Indeed in some places the whole problem will be solved by the production of this style of honey, requiring both comb and ex- tracted. It requires more skill to produce comb honey, and more labor in the apiary during the harvest time. The swarming problem is vastly more troublesome with comb than with ex- tracted honey. All this makes it pos- sible to keep a larger number of bees, and so to get more honey by ex- tracting. A MORAL QUESTION. In settling the question as to whether one should produce comb or extracted honey, it is perhaps right to say that there is a sort of moral point of view in the case. Will one do more good by producing extracted or comb honey ? We are told in the French bee journal, I'Apiculteur, that an up- to-date physician, Dr. Carton, has written a brochure in which he makes the somewhat startling statement that the three most deadly aliments are alcohol, meat, and sugar. No unpreju- diced person is likely to question the deadliness of alcohol. Some of our leading writers are inclined to view with complacency the present high price of meat as a blessing in disguise, believing that a reduction in the amount of meat consumed will be for the health of the people. But it is not so generally understood that the large amount of sugar consumed, especially in this country, when the annual con- sumption by every man, woman, and A pet colony of Henry C. Barron at Hagerman. New Mexico. Mr. Barron operates a large number of colonies in the southwest. child averages more than 80 pounds, is accountable for much ill health and many deaths. When cane sugar is eaten it must be inverted before it can be assimilated, and when an unrea- sonable amount is consumed the heavy burden thrown upon the digestive or- gans and the kidneys is too much for them, and they become diseased. On the other hand, if honey takes the place of sugar there is no such danger, for the sugar in honey is already invert- ed, ready for immediate assimilation. Whoever, therefore, is the means of getting the public to use honey in the place of sugar is doing just so much to conserve the public health and to pre- vent loss of life through inordinate consumption of cane sugar. Hence, the moral aspect. And with this view in mind, the question is, which will secure the largest consumption of honey, producing it in the form of comb or extracted honey? Two factors come in here : First, the better a thing tastes, the more peo- ple will want to eat it. Second, the less a thing costs the more of it can be sold. As to the first of these items, there would probably be a general agree- ment that comb honey tastes better than e-xtracted. We are told that the essential oils that give to honey its delightful aroma are better preserved in comb than in extracted honey. Along with this goes the matter of looks, and in this respect comb honey is far ahead. A beautiful, snow-white section of honey graces the table for company as can no sample of extracted honey in whatever kind of dish. When honey is eaten on hot cakes, the con- venience of extracted honey gives it the preference. It is only fair to say that while the aroma of comb honey excels that of extracted, the quality of honey is im- proved by being left a considerable time in the care of the bees. The whiter the cappings, the better comb honey sells. So sections must be hur- ried off the hive as soon as sealed lest they become darkened. In e.xtracting combs, however, it may be left on three times as long, giving it a richness and ripeness not to be secured in the very white sections. So it may be possible that this richness and ripeness may offset any superiority in the way of preservation of volatile oils in comb honey. There are wealthy people with whom the matter of cost cuts little or no figure, and with them the looks of comb honey will give it the preference. Indeed, if there were no choice either as to taste or looks, there are a few who would prefer the higher-priced just because of its higher price. The great middle class, however, if they can get extracted honey that is thor- oughly ripened and of best quality, will be certain to find the difference in price of more importance than any difference in quality they can recog- nize; and the poorer classes who find the price of comb honey prohibitive may still feel that they can afford to buy extracted. So it would seem that with the difference in price likely to prevail always, more extracted than comb will be sold. Or, taking a very general view of the case, the man who produces extracted honey produces 26 January, 1914. American ^ee Journal more than he would of comb, and the more honey that is produced the more honey is eaten. The man who produces a crop of comb honey is doing a good thing for the public ; it is possible that the man who produces a crop of extracted honey is doing just a little better thing for the public. Marengo, 111. -^* ^ The Life of a Bee Inspector BY F. DUNOAS TODD. FOUL Brood Inspector is my offi- cial title, but although I have been employed in the Govern- ment service of British Columbia for three successive years, I have never had a chance to work at my trade. I have opened up many thou- sand hives in that time, but have never found any foul brood to inspect. I am always looking forthedisease, but con- tinually hoping never to see it, and so far I consider myself and the province very lucky. Of course, I get a scare once in a while. For instance, the past summer one beekeeper, in the most casual way, informed me that seven of his colonies were infected in the spring, but that he got rid of the trouble. He is a fine beekeeper of the student type, so he plays all kinds of "stunts" with his hives to satisfy his craving for knowl- edge ; too frequently to his hurt so far ashoney crop counts. His knowledge of the English language is far from being good, and I have to patiently catechise him, examine him, re-exam- ine him, do it all over again, then some more, before I begin to comprehend what he is anxious to tell me. I feel I need to take a pound of salt with some of the statements he makes about bee conduct; but I know he will patiently lie in front of a hive for a day at a time, keeping his eyes fixed on the bees, so Icannot off hand say to him, " That can- not be so." I tried it once, but the chunks of broken English he hurled at me almost scared me off. So, when, in telling me of some of his recent observations, he lamented the fact that they were interrupted by the advent of foul brood, I naturally upset the even tenor of his way by wanting to know particulars, but he hastily interjected, "That's all right; I fix them," and then proceeded with the main theme of his story. I heard him out, and then got his interest centered on the matter of chief interest to me. How did the infection reach his bees ? A neighbor, it seems, had a can of honey sent to him from Ontario, and after the contents were consumed the empty receptacle was thrown into the rubbish heap. One day the neighbor invited Henry to come over and see what a fine feed was being provided for his bees, and he accepted the invi- tation. The moment he saw the feed he realized the risk, so he opened up every hive afterwards and found affect- ed brood in seven. Luckily, it was in spring with little in the hives, so every drop of the find had been fed to the brood at once. The beekeeper never hesitated a moment, but cut out the affected combs and burned them in the stove. I examined every colony very care- fully, but could see nothing wrong. The nearest apiaries were fully a mile away, and they also appeared all right ; but all of them will be closely watched another season. So far as we know we have a clean bill of health in British Columbia, and we want to keep the province in that condition. Now whether this was a real case of foul brood I do not know, but the in- cident is illustrative of how the dis- ease may be spread. It is the third case of introduction into the province of which I have cognizance. One was brought in by a settler from Ontario, and luckily the suspicious case was re- ported to the Department of Agricul- ture before neighboring apiaries had been affected. In another case a bee- keeper who had been visiting his early home in England, decided to bring back with him some fine British stock, but he brought more than he intended. No attemot was made to cure in either of these cases ; they were wiped out by fire. We bee inspectors of British Columbia do not intend at present to earn reputations as being men who can cure the ailment. Since we are free of it we deem it the higher wisdom to ruthlessly destroy by fire every case that comes under our notice. Need I say that I follow closely every word in the bee journals that is written on the subject of foul brood, and since I have had no experience in treating it, many readers may think it unwise, if not worse, of me to express any opin- ion on the subject; but. nevertheless, I have had much experience with the ordinary beekeeper; perhaps a closer and more intimate relationship than falls to the lot of the average inspec- tor; for my real work is giving in- struction in apiculture, so I have de- veloped some notions that I want to express. First, let me give an outline of our conditions. The province of British Columbia is a huge territory in which are settled less than half a million peo- ple, 7.5 percent of whom are located on the lower reaches of the Eraser river. Most of them are new to the work at which they are laboring, so our Gov- ernment, with great wisdom and fore- thought, is working hard to educate those on the land. The Department of Agriculture has a force of about three dozen experts at work; as fine a body of men as one could wish to see, all anxious to provide a full meal to any one who hints he is mentally hungry. I can best illustrate from my own work. While I am ready to jump at the first call for help, ordinarily for five months I plod steadily through a dis- trict until I have visited every man, woman and child that owns as much as one colony of bees. My business is to make the bees productive. I am armed with all kinds of authority, such as would arouse the ire of the average American if they were even mentioned; but I never show the club. Generally speaking, I am as " welcome as the flowers in May," but once in a while I bump into a man who would probably be willing to scrap on that particular' day with even Dr. Miller. He is busy, the bees are all right ; if examined they would annoy everybody, and, besides, they would be hindered at their work. Furthermore, he hates all kinds of in spectors, and as for the Government, well, he won't say what he thinks. Such men are delightfully easy. The very worst I ever came across had sworn by all the gods there are and some more, that he would " fire over the fence " the first Government m«n that ever set foot on his premises, and I was the unfortunate one. So inter- ested were the neighbors in the ex- pected fracas, that they all watched from afar as I set foot on the sacred ground. They were terribly disap- pointed when I stayed two hours, even more when I was accompanied to the gate by the farmer, who was protesting earnestly that I ought to give him more time. With such a case the best policy is to spar for time. Just assure him that everything will be exactly as he wants it. There is no disease in the locality therefore there is no need to examine his bees. Crack a joke or two, tell a few funny stories, ask about the kind of honey he gets, and such like. Then meekly ask to be permitted to outline the best way to handle bees to avoid swarms. The most obstinate case will permit that much, even for no other reason than to give you a chance to earn your pay. Before you have well started, he interrupts by asking about the one hive that has something wrong about it, and wants to know what is the matter. Well, that depends upon so many things you could not express an opinion unless you really examined it. etc., and the next thing you know you are along the hives and are busy. Meeting every beekeeper as I do, I have come to learn how little the aver- age man knows about apiculture. It is just as well to be plain, he knows noth- ing about bees, and has made no effort to learn anything. The bees take care of themselves, yet he wonders why he gets no honey. About two beekeepers in a hundred, in my territory, know anything about bees, all the others save swarms after a fashion, and that is the limit of their acquirements. And I suspect that they are not very differ- ent from the average keeper of bees in most parts of the world. In British Columbia an honest effort is being made to educate them. In a later arti- cle I hope to show whether or not the effort pays. When I started out as an inspector, my mind was chiefly concerned with bees and their ways, but I soon learned that the beekeeper and his ways were far more important; in the beginning at least. So I am steadily trying to understand men, and the system 1 am working out in my territory is based on the man more than on the bee. Later when I describe it I will not be a bit surprised if our leading authorities knock big holes in it from their stand- point, but I will have one good come- ijack, it works fairly well in British Columbia. I often wonder, as I read the instruc- tions given by other inspectors for the cure of foul brood, what will the farmer do? Will he follow directions to the letter? If I know anything, he will not. And there you have the chief reason why I decided for myself, and recommended to my official head that all undoubted cases of foul brood in January, 1914. American Hee Jonrnal our province should be destroyed. The case of Belgium is worthy of considera- tion, for so faJ as I have seen, it is the only country that is able to report the perfect elimination of the disease within its bounds, and this desirable end was attained by fire. A problem consists in trying to do a thing in an "undoable" way. The great merit of the Belgian plan lies in this, it worked. Victoria, B. C. at sides and ends, with 4 or 5 inches on top ought to work well. Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo. 111. He does not answer bee-keepine Questions by mail. Cement Supers — Cotton as a Honey Plant L Do you think it would be all ri^'lit to make supers out of cement ? Would it agree with the bees ? I can make them much cheaper with lumber. If any of the sub- scribers of the American Bee Journal have cement hives in any way. I would be pleased to hear (through thecolumsof the Journal) what their success has been. 2. They are raising a large amount of cot- ton near Phoenix. Do any of the readers know if cotton here in Arizona yields much honey ? Arizona. Answers.— I. My guess would be that cement supers would be quite objectionable on account of their weight. It is also pos- sible that with us degrees in the shade they might be too hot. 2 Cotton is a good honey plant in the southern States, and likely also with you. Yet sometimes it happens that a plant yields honey in one section and not in another. If any readers can give more definite an- swers to either of these questions they can have the floor. Old Combs in Decoy Hives In the decoy hives will strips of founda- tion in the frames do as well as frames of comb? Will the bees take to the foundation as readily? Rhode Island. Answer.— No; old combs are away ahead of foundation; indeed. I suspect an entirely empty hive is nearly as good as foundation. Combined Section and Extracting Super I would like to be able to make one super do for producing comband extracted honey. That is to say if I wanted extracted to put in shallow frames, or if comb to put sec- tions in the same box. Kindly tell me in the American Bee Journal the best arranj^ement you would suggest as to size and make of frames and sections other than the hanging section frame). My hives are 8-frame Lang- stroth. Scotland. Answer. — I don't know from experience, but here is something that might answer: Take one of the section supers in more or less common use which have frames with close-litting end-bars and no top-bars. Then for extracting combs you could make the same kind of frames, only with top-bars to them. Ventilation In Wlnler- -Paintlng Alighting-Boards Shade 1. I have my bees in large boxes, with chaff on top. all sides, and ends and front. About 3% inchesabove the entrance I have no chaff packing. How large a space should I leave for ventilation ? 1 have the ^-inch side of bottom up. 2. The alighting-board on the front is painted two coats, and I notice when the bees leave it and come out on the bottom of the box theyhaveahardtimetoclimbup. as the paint is so smooth when cold. I wonder if they have this same trouble in summer; if so, had it better not be painted ? 3. Do hives need any shade where full- sized bodies for supers are used ? 4. In hot weather how would it do to have the hives on the noith side of a building facing north ? This is the only location I have. Iowa. Answers.— I. Likely there will be none too much ventilation for a strong colony, with the entrance open the whole width, for with only -h inch under bottom-bars, the chance for ventilation is not the best. But why in the world do you have the shallow space in winter ?. 2. It is not likely to make trouble in hot weather; but it is easy to rub the smooth surface with coarse sandpaper. You could also give a light coat of paint, and sand it lightly while the paint is still wet. 1. The shade is better, if only for the com fort of the beekeeper. 4. rhey will do very well there. Hives and Covers— Marketing Honey 1. For a beginner which would you recom- mend, the 8-frame Jumbo brood-chamber or the lo-frame Langstroth ? 2. What do you think of using, a lo-frame gable-hive cover or n-frame hives ? I find the rain beats in at the edges of the 8-frame covers, so I thought the extra width of the lo-frame cover wo jld prevent this. I don't think much of the ordinary gable covers, as they leak too much. 3. What kind of a cover do you use ? 4. Would you advise deep or shallow covers ? 5. Which would you recommend, the 8 or 10 frame, full or shallow super for the pro- duction of extracted honey ? 6. I know of no up-to-date beekeepers in this county, so all the honey produced here is sold for only 8 or lo cents per pound, and put up "just any old way" with crushed bees and pollen in it. so when nice honey is offered for sale here it must be sold at less than half what it is worth. Would you ad- vise shipping it to larger markets ? 7. How would you winter bees out-of- doors ? Missouri. Answers.— I. The lo-frame Langstroth. 2. I don't know, but I am afraid it would not be the most satisfactory. 3. A flat cover with a dead air-space cov- ered with zinc or tin. The upper and the lower parts are each of Ja-inch stuff, with the grain running in opposite directions, separated by strips or cleats >s thick, 4. Fur my own use I prefer the flat cover (I have no trouble with rain beating in . al- though some good beekeepers prefer deep covers. 5. Ten-frame hives, or larger, for brood- chamber, and I think I should prefer shal- low extracting combs. 6. Take the plan that will bring you the most, but unless your home market is over- stocked, you may find it best to persist in furnishing for it the best quality of honey, and educating your customers up to it. 7. In your locality 2 or 3 inches protection Transferring from Old Boxes A rancher captured nine swarms of bees at different times that had settled near his house. He boxed them into aiiple boxes nailed the lids solid, after putting in a few frames and cutting a small opening in front. He scattered them about the ranch, putting the boxes in bare ground, and never tried to look at them. Some of them have been boxed up for over two years. The boxes became loose, the bottoms were completely rotted off. and cracks opened up everywhere, and the rain came in through the cracks on top. I bought all of them, and had much trouble in moving them, as the boxes were so rotten that nails would not hold. I had to tie bottom-boards on and cover them up with sacks. The boxes are very heavy; there must be much honey in them; the bees are black. If you will answer the following you will greatly oblige one of your subscribers and a beginner: 1. Are the bees liable to be healthy ? 2. When will be the best time to transfer them into proper hives ? 3. Must the hives have frames in them 'with full sheets of foundation before I put the bees in. or should the hives be empty, and put in the frames after the bees are in ? 4. Must I put the honey into the hives with them, ^l^h/ /unc ^ 5. If I put the honey into a regular feeding receptacle, will they put the honey into new sheets of foundation ? 6. How many frames should I put in each lo-frame hive ? California. Answers.— I. They are Iikelv to be iust as healthy in those old rickety boxes as in the best hives. Of course, if foul brood is in the neighborhood they are likely to have it. 2. During fruit bloom is a good time, al- though in late years it is generally preferred to wait until 20 days after swarming. 3. If bees are transferred in fruit-bloom, the straight combs of brood are generally fastened in frames with strings or other- wise, and then frames filled with foundation are put in to till up the hive, at the same time or before the bees are put in. If the transfer is made 21 days after swarming, then the hive will be entirely filled with frames of foundation before the bees are put in. 4. If you choose, you can fasten combs of honey in frames the same as brood, although it is not so satisfactory. 5. Yes. 6. The whole ten. Translerring— Clipping Queens' Wings 1. I have a colony of bees in a cracker box without frames in it. and they have it nearly filled with combs. I would like to transfer them to a new modern lo-frame hive next spring. Would the following plan be all right: Put full sheets of brood foundation in the 10 frames, set box of bees on top. close ail openings above, and make them work through the new hive below. Would they move down of their own accord, or will I have to drive them down ? 2. Please explain the meaning of the word nucleus. 3. What is the advantage of clipping the queens' wings ? 4. Could you start a colony with one pound of bees and a queen ? 5. Does a queen-bee sting? (). What is the average life of a queen, drone, and worker bee? New Subscriber. Answers.— I. They will work down of their own accord, but not " while you wait" unless you wait until the old hive is pretty well filled with honey. It will help matters if. at the time you operate, you will cut away both box and combs up to where the brood is. 2. A nucleus is a baby colony. Just when a nucleus becomes large enough to be called a colony it is not easy to say; perhaps I might say it should be called a colony when 28 January, 1914. American ISee Journal it has more than three combs covered with bees. This in summertime; in the spring plenty of colonies have only two or three combs covered with be«s. 1. The advantage is that a prime swarm with a clipped queen will return to its hive because the queen cannot go with it. 4. Yes; if started early enough in a good season it will make a good colony. 5. Yes. she will sting another queen, and in very, very rare cases a worker. 6. A queen, perhaps 2 years; a worker 6 weeks in the working season; a drone until the workers drive it out. Questions from Japan 1. In some parts of Hokkaidow enormous lily Hewers are found, and I can not speak too highly of their beauty and perfume — Howers are used to make perfumed water. I wish to know if bees work on them. 2. How many colonies do you have in your home apiary ? How many acres about your apiary do all the colonies work ? Japan. Answers.— I. I don't know: but you can tell by watching. I think they are likely to yield nectar. 2. The season closed with toi colonies. I have only the one apiary now. It is hard to say how much t-round they work on; per- haps all within i]? miles. Within that range will be found fields of one to 20 acres of clover, and also much ground yielding little or nothing. Bee Houses—Good Location 1. I propose to build a bee house in the apring of 1914. for protection against too hot summers and the cold months of winter. Our summers are not long, but sometimes very hot; the winters short and not very cold, occasionally in winter the therm o me ter will fall as low as 15 degrees above zero. Kindly give your advice on this ques- tion, also the advantage or disadvantage. 2. Name the different kinds of vegetables that bees gather nectar from to convert into honey. There are thousands of acres of vegetables and cotton planted in this sec- tion that is within a radius of 5 miles of the city. 1. From the brief description here given, what do you think of the locality? There are no bees within a distance of 7 miles of where I propose to locate. South Carolina. •Answers.— I. Bee houses, such as you con- template, were more or less in use some years ago, but have been mostly abandoned. They have the advantage that when the bees are handled in summer thev will not sting so much as outdoors, and they are safer from thieves. But it is hot and inconvenient for the beekeeper, and bees do not gener- ally winter so well in them. In spite of the fact that one does not generally relish ad- vice against one's own inventions I advise you to let bee houses alone. 2. Likely the flowers of almost any vegeta- ble are utilized by the bees when present in quantity. Among those that have been known as good honey-plants are peas, beans, onions, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, and other vines, radishes, etc. 3. My guess would be that the location ought to be excellent, as cotton alone is im- portant. Extra Bees for Nuclei 1. When buying nuclei is it best to buy an extra pound of worker bees to each frame, so -as not to keep the queen from laying, and would it not make the colony build up quicker ? 2. What is best for a large colony a i-story hive or I'A or 2 story ? 3. Is the dovetailed hive a good hive ? New Hampshire. Answers.— I. Yes. the stronger a nucleus the more rapidly it will build up. and if you can have an extra pound of bees added at a moderate cost it might pay well. Generally, however, if a stronger nucleus is wanted both combs and bees are added. 2. A single story is generally all that a strong colony needs to start with in spring. Then it depends upon size of hive ;8-frame. 10-frame. or more) whether it may need an- other story before harvest. When the har- vest comes, then the first story is enough for the brood-chamber, and additional room must be given for surplus. If for extracted honey, some use stories the same as brood- chamber, and some use shallower stories. For section honey, shallow supers taking only a single tier of sections are generally used, and these may be tiered up 2. 3. to 0 or 7 high. Extracting stories are also tiered up in a good season. 3. It is the one in most general use. and generally considered the best. A Room for Colonies Carniolans and Caucasians 1. Is it possible to keep several colonies of bees in a building, using a window as a com- mon entrance for all ? 2. Would you consider Carniolan or Cau- casian bees superior to Italians in a fruit country, because of earlier breeding in the spring ? 3. Do you consider a brood-chamber con- taining 10 Hoffman frames large enough at all times, first for Italians, second for Car- niolans, or would a i2-frame brood-chamber be better ? New York. Answers.— I. Yes. with proper precautions. The room must be light enough so bees can easily find their own hives after they are in the room, or else a tube for each hive must run from the entrance of the hive to the out side, and there must be no chance for a bee to get out of the tube into the room. In the first case (the light room; precaution must be taken against bees flying against the glass where they cannot get out. The window, or windows, must have an opening at bottom and too of eat/i window. 2. I don't know, but I don't believe they would do any better than Italians. 3 There are times when a good queen of either kind would find 12 frames too few. Generally, however, either 10 or 12 will an- swer. Which Hive to Use? 1. Which would be the best for me, the 8 or 10 frame hives ? I do not want to let my bees swarm in the spring. 2. Which kind of hive do you think is the best, the dovetailed or Wisconsin ? I have my bees out-of doors all the year around. Some tell me I should have the Wisconsin because it has more of a front to shelter it from the rain. But I began with the dovetailed 8-frame hive. I ordered three new hives last spring. I shall order the Wisconsin after this if it is best for the weather. I see in the catalog the Hoffman brood-frame; will fit both kinds. 3. Which is best for extracting, the full depth or the shallow supers ? 4. Which do you think is the best wood for a hive, white pine or cypress? 5. Which kind of hive is best for comb honey ? lOWA. Answers.— I. The larger hive will prob- ably be better for you. 2. Doubtful if you will find any difference. A front that protects against rain also gives protection to spiders. But you will do well to have only one kind. 3. Except for the inconvenience they can- not be used interchangeably in the brood- chamber, theshallow frames are considered better for extracting. The queen is less likely to go up into them, and their shallow- ness makes them easier to uncap. 4. I have had no experience with cypress, but have an idea one is about as good as the other. 5. There is probably nothing better than the 10-frame dovetailed. Mr. S. Beebe in His Small Apiary at Beede Plain. Vt. Supering 1. I read an article by Dr. Bonney in the No- vember issue of the American Bee Journal about cutting out chunks of finished lioney to fit sections and then putting them on the hives for about 36 hours for the bees to fasten. This seems reasonable to me. what do you say about it ? 2. In the December Bee Journal I note that you had some colonies this season with as many as seven supers on them. Were these supers added one at a time to the top. or were the top supers lifted off each time and the new super put next to the bottom ? 3. If all seven of the supers had been put on at once, would you have had as much honey, and would the sections have been as well filled? 4. When you have so many supers on a hive for any length of time, will not the first filled sections become darkened from travel stains by the bees ? . 5; If you should put two or three supers on at onceat the beginning of a big How, would the bees begiii storing in the top or bottom super first ? 6. If you would run a colony for both ex- tracted and section honey, which super would you put next to the brood, the section super or the extracting super ? KENTt'CKV. Answers —I. You never can be sure about a thine of that kind until it has been thor- January, 1914. American l^ee Journal oiiKhly tried out by the Ijees. It is possibl u that it might be advantageous for those who have difficulty in getting bees to worVi promptly in sections. I don't have any dif- licultyof that kind, so I can hardly believe I would gain by it. 2. There was no cast-iron rule about it. but generally it was like this: When the first super was well started, perhaps half tilled, or well crowded with bees, a second super was put under it. and generally an empty super on top of all. After that, when- ever the bottom super was about half filled the top super was put at bottom and an empty super put on top of all. !. Like enough the result last season would have been about the same, because of the continuously long season, but how could I tell in advance whether the season would close in three days or three months r* 4. No. because none is left on long enough to be darkened: moreover, each super is raised higher before the sealing, and sec- tions are darkened after the sealing, and when sections are high enough from the brood-chamber they are darkened very slowly, if at all. 5. I would expect them to begin on the lower super. 6. Those who use the two kinds of supers put the extracting super on first. But I wouldn't think of doing a thing of that kind unless I preferred to have the extracted honey. Sour Honey 1. How tar from the public highway does the law require an apiary to be to insure one from all damages ? 2, Will honey extracted from comb freshly built and not capped over sour if placed in a can ? If so. how would you iirevent this ? ^. Will comb and extracted honey put in regular honey buckets sour if kept any length of time ? Indiana. Answers.— I. That depends altogether upon the the local or State laws. Generally I think there is no law about it. but if you are wise you will not risk having your bees close enough to the highway to endanger any one passing by. If your bees are very gen- tle it may be safe to have them close to the roadside. Some bees are not safe lo rods away. 2. Maybe, and maybe not. Sometimes honey is sealed before it is ripened, but generally not. The remedy is to wait until the honey is sealed before extracting. Even if it never soured, it will be money in your pocket in the long run if you never put any- thing on the market but the very best ripen- ed article. 3. Either kind may be kept for years with- out souring if well ripened by the bees, and then kept in a dry place where it will not attract moisture. Keep it in a place where salt will keep dry. If salt gets moist in a certain place, so will honey unless it be ex- tracted honey tightly sealed. tine the- bees nearly all out of the house- after transferring quite a little brood and some empty combs into an empty hive. There was about lou pounds of honey we gave to the owner, and we put 25 pounds in an empty super for the bees. I am not sure whether the old queen remained outside with a few bees or not. Anyway, these few bees left a good swarm and queen in the hive. The swarm was gathering pollen yes- terday. The other swarm was nearer the ground, and was taken out quite easily. The queen remained outside with a small cluster of bees for several days, and finally when I found her I introduced her to the main part of the swarm by the smoke method, I'he colony is doing well. I now have 1^ colonies of my own and three on shares. I never knew bees to gather pollen from dandelion as ours are doing this month. My bees are in ex- cellent shape for winter, J. W. Stine. Salem. Iowa. Nov. 20. Winters Successfully Out-of-Doors I have had a very good year with my bees. I had 4,- (Harnessed Sun- beams) Honey in digestibility, nutrient value or flavor. Samples and prices free ' C. W. Dayton, Owensmouth, Calif. For Sale-No. i white clover comb. $3 so per case; No. 2, $3.00 per case. No. i fall comb. $3 00 per case; No. 2 fall. $2 50 per case All cases have 24 sections, and 6 cases to carrier. Quirin-the-Queen- Breeder, Bellevue, Ohio. Dealers and producers who buy honey kindly ask for a late number of the Review giving a list of members having honey for sale. Many carloads are listed in the Octo- ber number. Address, gAtf The Bee-Keepers'Review, Northstar, Mich, January, 1914. American Vee Jonrnal Extracted Honey — Best pure Illinois. White Clover and blends with. Sweet Clover. Amber Fall and Spanish-needle grades. Also tine Western Water-white and Light Amber Alfalfa. All packed in 5. 10 and do lb. cans. Some in barrels. Samples and prices Free. Dadant & Sons. Hamilton. 111. FOK SALE Rufus-Red Belgian Hares. Price list free. Harvey L. Stumb. Quakertown. Pa. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony; my neichbors eot none. I'll tell you how for 25c. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. Better Hives for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalos. A. E, Burdick. Sunnyside. Wash. For Sale— 2" Horse Power I. H. C. Deliv- g^-y Truck: good as new. In tine condition and runninB order. Will be sold at a bareain. [.Alt L. Werner. Edwardsville. 111. Reprint of Old Original Langstroth work has just been printed, and will be mailed on receipt of $1.00. See full pageadvertisement in this issue. For Sale— Empty second-hand cans, two cans to the case: good as new: 25c per case. C. H. W. Weber. 2i4(> Central Ave.. Cincinnati. Ohio. Bee-Keeper. let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They re nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co.. iAtf Greenville. Tex. For Sale— Root's goods and Dadanfs foundation at factory prices f. o b. Pacific Coast points in quantity lots; smaller lots in proportion. Write us stating your wants. .Spencer Apiaries Co., Nordhoff. Calif. Honey as a Health Food is a 16 page booklet giving uses of honey in recipes and as a medicine. Just the thing to create a local demand for your honey. We print your business card on all orders for 100 or more. Prices as follows, postpaid: =;o copies «oc. 100 for li.so. 2i;o for $3 00. 500 for $5.00. 1000 for $g.oo. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, 111. POULTRY For Sale — Buff Orpington eggs, pure bloods: $1 on for is. Satisfaction guaranteed. 2Aiy W. H. Payne. Hamilton. Illinois. HONEY LABELS The Nl:mfer of enquiries coming in for honey labels has been so large that we have decided to put in a stock of these for the convenience of our readers. Should you be in need of anything in this line, send for a copy of our label catalog, which will be sent free. American Bee lournal. Hamilton, 111. SITUATIONS. Wanted— Position for IQ14. all-around bee man: 2=; years" experience Best of refer- ence. Will go any place. Prefer California or West. L. W. Benson. Nampa, Idaho Dr. Peiro vv'ill continue to give the readers of the American Bee Journal free ativice regarding the subject of Surgical and Medical treatment. Many have availed themselves of this oflfer. Return postage is all you need to send. Address, Dr. Peiro, 453*) Perry Street, Chicago, 111. Chicago, Dec. 16.— Prices on comb honey average about one cent per pound less than it this time in November, .just liow much remains to be marketed is unknown, the probability is that sufficient quantities re- main unsold to keep the markets well sup- plied. The extracted is not so firmly held, but prices have not receded much, espe- cially is this true of well ripened white clover or basswood in new cans, which brings aco'oc per pound. Beeswax sells at 3iC"'13C. according to color and cleanliness upon arrival. R. A. Burnett & Co. Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 13.— The honey market shows rather a weak feeling. The receipts of comb are large. The supply of extracted is not large; demand just fair. The weather is warm, and this partially ac- counts for the light demand. We quote as follows: No. I white comb. 24 sections per case, $2.75; No. 2, $2.50. No. i amber, $2.60 to $2.75: No. 2. $2.50. White extracted, per pound. 8@'8!4c; amber, 7@8c. No. i beeswax, per pound, 30c: No. 2. 2sc. C. C, Clemons Produce Company. Indianapolis. Dec. 18.— Honey is moving freely. Fancy white comb is selling at i6@- 17c: No, I white, one cent less Finest ex- tracted, q@ioc in 5-gallon cans. Beeswax is in good demand, and producers are being paid .32c, cash or trade. Walter S. Pouder. New York, Dec. 18.— The demand for comb honey has slackened off to some ex- tent of late, and while there is a call for white honey, fancy in particular, lower grades, mixed and buckwheat are practi- cally at a stand still. Our stocks, however, are not large, and will be disposed of in the course of time. We quote fancy white at i(ic. No. I at I4@'i5c: No 2. white, at I2@n; buckwheat and mixed at io@iic. The mar- ket on extracted honey is quiet also, and while the stock of domestic grades is not very large, the new crop from the West In- dies is arriving in large quantities, and prices have been gradually declining. We quote white clover at 85^(?'oc. light amber at 7^@8c, buckwheat at 7@75*2C. West Indies at 6o@65c per gallon, according to tiuality. Buck%vheat steady at 326'33c. HiLDRETH & SEGELKEN. Denver, Dec. 10.— Our local market is well supplied with honey, and our jobbing quo- tations are as follows: Strictly No. i white, per case of 24 sections. S2.70: choice. $2.57. No. 2. $2.43. Extracted, white, 8@gc: light amber, i&yHc. We are in the market for beeswax, and pay 30c per pound in cash, and 32c in trade delivered here. The Colo. Honey-Producers' Ass'n., Frank Rauchfuss, A/^r. Los Angeles, Dec. 10.— The market on California honey has been inactive recently, on account of the failure of the sage honey crop and the scarcity of other fancy varie- ties in this State. We think y accounted for by the fact that there has been plenty of other kinds of honey pro- tluced both in the western States and in the East. There is a car of fancy white orange honey still to be had at <)'a@q'Ac, f. o. b. Los Angeles, and there are a few cars of alfalfa light amber honey which could be sold at about 6c per pound f, o. b. shipping point; also one car, possibly two. of fancy light amber mountain honey at about 7c. Outside of this small quantity the honey business in the extreme West depends upon the sweet clover and white alfalfa honey produced in the States lying just (!ast of California. This is held now at h5i@7c f. o b. shipping point. There has been a lively demand for bees- wax at prices higher than usual, and on this account the producers have sold rather freely. Eastern buyers are bidding 3Qc per pound and upwards f. o. b. California, Hamilton &Menderson. Cincinnati. Dec. 18. - The demand for honey at this time of the year is good con- sidering the large quantity on the market. It does seem that this year there is no end of shipments coming in. Fancyclover comb honey is selling at i6c a pound, and white comb honey from $3 so to $4 40 per case. Ex- tracted honey is sellingfrom 5/4(s'7Hc foram- ber. and from 7!t"' roc for white clover ex- tracted honey, according to quality and quantity. We are paying 32c a pound de- livered here for bright yellow beeswax. The Fred W. Muth Co. Cincinnati. Dec. 10 — The market on honev is quiet with quiet a supply. No de- mand for off grades of comb honey. No. i white sells from S3 50 to $3,6s. Light amber honey in cans from »&i'Ac. White honey in cans 0 cents. Beeswax is selling at $35 per hundred. . ... The above are our selling prices, not what we are paying. C. II. W. Weber & Co, Boston, Dec. iq. — l-ancy and No. i white comb, I6@i7c per pound. New fancy white ex- tracted in 5-gallon cans, io@iic. Beeswax, 30c. Pure white honey in barrels. <3C per pound. Blake.-Lee Company. San Francisco. Dec. 15. -The comb honey market is overstocked, and little or no de- mand at present, and prices have dropped accordingly. No, i fancy, I3@i5c: No, 2. io@- I2c: dark, S(?inc. Extracted, water-white. oc; white, 7'i@8c: amber. 6@7c: darker grades. 5@5/^c. Beeswax. 3o@32c per pound. Very little offered. John C. Frohliger. EXTRACTED HONEY Just received car New Utah Alfalfa Honev. 9 cents a pound f. o, b. Kansas Citv, Mo. C. C. CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. 137 Grand, Kansas City, Mo. CREATE A LOCAL DEMAND FOR YOUR HONEY By Sending Out Booklets, Giving Different Uses of Honey Witli Recipes, Etc. HONEY AS A HEALTH FOOD Is a l(3-page pamphlet; envelope size; just the thing to create the local demand. The first part of it contains a short article on " Honey as Food," written by Dr. C. C. Miller. It tells where to keep honey, how to liquefy it, etc. The last is devoted to " Honey Cooking Recipes," and " Remedies Using Honey." It should be widely circulated by those selling honey. The more the people are educated on the value and uses of honey as a food, the more they will buy. Prices, prepaid : Sample copy for a 2-cent stamp ; oO copies for 90 cents ; 100 copies for $1..50; 2-50 copies for $.3.00; .500 copies for $.5.00; or 1000 for $9.00. Your business card printed free at the bottom or front page on all orders for 100 or more copies. Address all orders to AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, HAMILTON, ILLINOIS January, 1914. American "Bee Joarnalj WANTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Pricse. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St, New York, N. Y. NEVER Such Poultry and Egg DEMAND —before in poultry busineas. Shortage of beef .pork, mutton makes this poultry men 'a bonanza year. Com- bine chicken-raising with bee culture— double your income. Poultry profits high. But use right toola —get full measure success. Cyph ^I d and Brooders World's Standard. Se'.f- regulating, self-ventilating. Fireproofj insurable. High- est records for 613, coniin- noits hatches. Get Cyphers Company's 244 page catalog and poultry giiiue before ynic buy. Eight vitally helpful chapters. Address today CYPIIFR9 INCnUTOU CO. Dept. 8S Iturfiilo. N. Y. Write For Big Free Book 3 band long-tongued reo- clover;italian queens For Sale.— My long- tongued Goldens are proving themselves to be the bee to clean P^oul Brood, This is why I have such a large trade in Canada. Mr. E. L. Cox. of Jesup. Iowa, in- troduced 5oof my i-band queens in Foul-Broody colonies in 1012; and he said the disease was cleaned up where each of those queens was put. They gathered such a arge crop of honey in I0I2 that he bought ■;) more in lon. One Untested, 75c; 6, $4.00; 12, $7.50; 25, $13.50; 50, $25.00 Double the above for tested queens. Bees by the pound: One lb.. S2.00; 2 lbs.. $4.00. One-frame nucleus. S2-00; 2 frame, Si.oo; 3- frame, $4.00. To all the above packages add the price of queen. I will begin to send out queens in April. Positively no checks will be accepted. .Send money by P. O Money Orders, All queens arrivinir dead will be replaced if cage is returned bv return mail J. B. ALEXANDER, CATO, ARK, Utah Beekeepers to Meet. — The an- nual meeting of the Utah Beekeepers' Association will be held on the Utah Agricultural Grounds on Jan. .30, 1914, under the special auspices of the ex- tension department. Special rates will apply on ail railroads in Utah, The program follows : )an. ^0. lu a.m. — K.nrollment, Faculty Room. Call to Order, Room 126, President's Ad- dress—E. B. Hawkins, of American F'ork. Appointment of Committees. Keport of Secretary — H. C. Henager, of Salt Lake. II a.m. — Rearing and Introducing Queens— R. T. Rheese. of Ogden. Production and Sale of Honey— Wilford Belliston, of Nephi, 2 p m. — Foul Brood Treatment— James Hacking, of Vernal. Wintering— .Summer Stand Cellar — N. E. Miller, of l.ogan. Middle Man and Sale of Honey— A. G. An- derson, of Beaver. 8 p.m.— Music— School of Music, of U. A. C, Life of the Honey Bee 'lanternslides)— Dr. E. G. Titus, of U. A. C Reports of committees and election of officers. An exhibit of bees and beekeeping appli- ances will be open to the beekeepers and other visiting farmers and housevives in the College Museum. IMPORTANT MEETlNliS FOR BEEKEEPERS. Farmers' Round-Up and Housekeepers' Conference, Jan. 26 to Feb. 7. State Poultry- men's Convention, Jan. 20 to 31 Stale Poul- try Show. Jan. 26 to 31. State Dry-Farmers' Convention, Jan 31, State Dairyman's Con- vention. Feb. 2. The Opfer Hive-Entrance Bee-Feeder. In the spring we must feed the bees to have them strong for clover-bloom "With all the present feeders this is a troublesome job- either the hive-bottom or covers have to be taken off every time we feed. With the En- trance Feeder shown herewith, all you have to do is to push it in at the hive-entrance and leave it there until there is no more need of feeding. It contracts the entrance, and that is what you want in spring. The size of this feeder is 7.X8 inches, and h inch deep, and holds 5 ounces of feed. You can feed 100 colonies in about 2S minutes. In case of foul brood you can feed medi- cated syrup, and your bees will build up strong and healthy, and be in good shape when clover starts, ready to shake on foun- dation. I have used 75 of these feeders about 8 years, and today they are as good as ever. With proper care they will last a life-time. Inspringor infall mostbee-keepersneglect to stimulate brood-rearing— one of the most important things in having strong colonies and good wintering. It does not depend so much upon the amount of feed as it does upon regularity every night (unless the weather is too cold), and you will wonder where your strong colonies come from. Some of the many good points of the En- trance Feeder are these: 1. It is made of heavy galvanized iron and will last a life-time. 2. It reduces the hive entrance. 3. It reaches where the bees can get at the feed even in cool weather. 4. It feeds the right amount. 5. It will not cause robbing. 6. It will not disturb the colony while feed- ing. 7. It permits quick work, 8 The bees will not drown in it. I am in a position to furnish all demands for these feeders at the following prices, f, o. b. Chicago: One for20c; s for i8c each; 10 for i6c each. It ordered by mail, add loc each for packing and postage. Address all orders to— A. H. OPFER, 6259 Patterson Ave., Chicago, III. WHEN YOU WALK Into your apiary you surely have some colonies that are JUST A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE REST IF THEY ARE OUR Gray Caucasians They are surely pets of high degree. Centle as doves. Always just so. Send or prices. A. D. D. Wood, Box 61, Lansing,Mich. or Box 82, Houston Heights, Tex. BOOKS FOR BEE • KEEPERS FOR SALE BY AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, HAMILTON, ILLINOIS. First Lessons in Bee-Keeping, by Thos. G. Newman, revised by C. P. Dadaut.— Intended mainly for beg"lnner9. Nearly 200 pairea. and over 150 pictures. Bound In strong: paper cover, showing- bee-brood in all staeres of development from the newly-laid e^g". Tbl3 book contains the foundation principles of bee-keeplngr, as its name Indicates. Price, postpaid, 50 eta. : or free with the American Bee Journal one full year If paid strictly in advance— by either new or re- newal subscription at $1.00. Fifty Years Among the Bees, by Dr. C. C. Miller. — 340 paprey. bound in cloth, and Illustra- ted with 113 half-tone pictures taken by Dr. Mil- ler himself. It is a g-ood. live story of success- ful bee-koeplng- by a master of the subject, and shows with clearness just how Dr. Miller works with bees and produces tons of honey. Price, $1.00, postpaid: or with the American Bee Jour- nal a year, $1.80; or g-iven Free as a premium for sending: if New subscriptions at $1.00 each. Scientific Queen-Rearing, as Practically Applied, by G. M. Doollttle.— It tells how the very best Queen-Bees are reared In Nature's Way. A gfood aiithority says; "It is practically the only comprehensive book on queen-rearing now In print. It Is looked upon by many as the foundation of the modern methods of rearing: queens wholesale." Price, bound in cloth, 75 cts., postpaid: or with the American Bee Jour- nal a year— both for $i .50. The same book bound in leatherette, 60 eta., postpaid ; or free with the American Bee Journal one full year If paid in advance strictly, by either new or renewal BUh- BcrlDtlon at $1.00. Biggie Bee-Book.— This is a very small cloth-bound, well gfotten up book. Its size 18 4x5 1-2 inches, and it was deaig:ned to be carried in the pocket of the amateur bee-keeper. It contains concise Information reg'arding' the best practice in bee-culture. An excellent book for use when a person has only limited time to give to bee-keeping-. Price by mail, 60 cents: or with the American Bee Journal one year, $1.35. ABC&XYZof Bee Culture, by A. I & E. R, Root— Over 500 larg:e pag-es describing- everything- peralning- to the care and manag-e- ment of the honey bees. It is a veritable en- cyclopedia on bees. 400 eng:raving:s. Bound In cloth. Price, postpaid. $2.25, or with the Ameri- can Bee Journal, both for $2.75. or given Fkke as a premium for sending- five new subscriptions at $1.00. A Modern Bee Farm, by Samuel Simmins. The author is a live Engrlish beelieeper. He has kept up with the prog-ress in this line not only in his own country, but all over the world. His views are determined, but very well taken, and his points are made with an accuracy which la convincing:. Cloth bound. 470 pag-es. Price, post- paid. $2.00, or with the American Bee Journal, both $2.75. British Bee-Keepers' Guide, by Thomas W. Cowan.— This is without doubt the standard work for the f^ngllsh bee-keeper. It is very much condensed, containing- 170 pag-es. and is nicely illustrated and well bound. Price, post-, paid, $1.00; or with the American Bee Journal one year. $1,75. Alexander's Writings on Practical Bee- Keeping.— The late E. W. Alexander is the man who kept 700 colonies of bees at his home place in New York. He wrote a series of arti- cles which have been published in book form. They discuss bee-keeping- in broadest terms. 95 pages, paperbound. Price, 50ceuts. postpaid: or with the Amedcan Bee .Tournal one year. $1.25. A Year's Work in the Out-Apiary, by G. M. Doollttle.— The author is an experienced bee- keeper, who tells in this little book the rotiulre- ments necessary for keeping: bees away from home. For any one who is intending- to keep bees on a large scale, this book.wllt be Inval- uable, paper bound, contains, contains CO pagfes. Price. 50 cents: or with the American Bee Jour- nal one year. $1.25. Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, bv L. C. Root. —This Is a modern edition of "" Quinby's Myster- ies." Mr. Qulnby is well known to all bee- keepers. He. with Mr. Langstroth, was re- sponsible for much of the early jrrowih in bee- keeping: in America. Cloth bound. 220 pag:ea. Price, postpaid. $1.00; or with the American Bee Journal for one year. $1.76. Double the honey crop and save half the labor. 25c. Money back if not satisfied. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter Springs, Kan. ■tI6T '-^■I'Bnncf 33 American Hee Joarnal Thale's Regulative Vacuum Bee Feeder, (f^^ MOST perfect stimulative feeder ever constructed. It feeds inside uiidernealli the cluster and will fit any hive made. To till feeder lift oft empty bottle and set on full one. It is so regulated by the slide from the outside of the hive to feed any amount that you may want the bees to have in one day. If you set it on one-half pint in one day the bottle of feed will run four days and nights and can be in creased or decreased from the outside of tlie hive without disturbing the bees or moving the feeder. It feeds contin- uously, thereby imitating a natural honey flow and will pro- duce more brood with less c ost than any other feeder made, and can be filled any time of the day without causing robbing or excitement. My feeder circular and Bee Supply Price List free upon application Send mee list of your wants — it is no troub 1 to answer letters. Thale's Vacuum Bee Feeder in Use TERMS, CASH WITH ORDER Ont sample feeder, with (wo bottles, complete by mail postpaid Ten feeders, complete with one bottle, by freight or express All orders over ten feeders only ...... Extra bottles with cork valve, each .... 55. j3. 03. 01. H. H. THALE, Inventor and Manufacturer MAYWOOD, MISSOURI, Thale's Vacuum Bee Feederin Detail. ►YXTXTYYM W¥WW¥^WWM ^YTYYYXy ! fc 1 Organized Co-operation ^ M N N N N N N H N N N N N N M THE WESTERN HONEY BEE A new magazine owned and run by the bee-keepers, filled with Western life as depicted by the best talent on bee topics obtainable. Special department on crop and market conditions during season. ADVERTISERS Queen-Breeders' Department 1 inch, $2.00 per issue Classified, 15c a line Write for particulars Published Monthly by the California State Bee-Keepers' Ass'n Lics Augeles, Calif. J. D. BIXBY, Editor, Covina, California. >¥¥WM^MityXXXyXXXXXXXXXXXyY Make Your Hens Lay Youfian double your egg yield by feedlnt,- fri-^li-rut, va\\ bt.ius It V > contains over four times as much e^;^^ oi'i'^liiK niait'rial as ^'rain and takes tlie place of bu^'S and worms In f<.'wi-i' du't. That's why it gives more epgs— greater lertillty, stronger chicks, larger fowls. MANN'S "-£1111 BONE CUTTER cuts easily and rapidly all large and small bones with adhering meat and gristle. AutomatU-ally adapts to your strength. Never clogs. Sent i 10 Days' Free Trial. Nu ruunev down. Send for OUT free books today. EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 2!t years' experience in making everything for the beekeeper. A large factory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsville, Missouri A NICE GIFT FOR WIFE, MOTHER, SISTER We are fortunate in be- ing able to offer to our readers a real practical egg beater, cream whipper, etc. It is called the "Rob- erts Lightning Mixer." From the experience of users here, it well deserves its name. It is easy to Clean, Hard to damage, and a Pleasure to Work. The spiral perforated dasher, whirling in every direction, aerates, stirs and lightens, and at the same time it completely and thoroughly mixesevery particle. We recommend it to our readers as being well worth the money. Sold in pint size. We can send them, postpaid, from the factory in Massachu- setts for 50 cents. Address all orders to AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, III. ATRJALPACKETof "^■^.TOMATO FREE! Powci CRAHO ftAPIDS MARKET TOMA rOuo.an*- • naltdbyMi Ctorgr E. Rowt. (fi- EJ.tor of THE FRUIT BELT. Am,no thoatand iinri, W* "re willing to tiaht oat rtpatalton on thit ton "tttck. wl"f"ciVlNC^T'AWA"l^in'r^lt'THE'FRU^^ Americans Greatest Horticultural Journal Sbowt yoQ How to Make Money Raising Fruit: How to Pnme and Dun Properly: How to CoDtrol Injects and Plant Diteates by Spkayiog: What Varieties to Plant: How to Set oat New Orchard*: How to "Rejavenate" Old Orcbardi. THE FRUIT BELT U a Big lUuitraied Magazine, Filled with Good Things for Yo& ^itt fnd THE FRVtr BELT to ytmr Pr(» tor th* rtntauidtr o/ ihit yvxr, op- •actipt of Thirty Ctntt. and uM loill trnd lo voo, by rttnm rrtail FREE, o trial pock«( of Row* '■ Crtind Rapid* Atarktt Tomalo ,fd. Don't dtlai. tht ((dc* u linufd. Addrttf ■ TUr rDIlIT UriT RI12. hawkins building inc. rtVUll DLL I GRAND RAPIDS. MICHIGAN TRIAL OFFER I JUST OUT! S ^ A Reprint of Langstroth's Old Original 1853 Edition of "Langstroth on the Hive and Honey Bee" '¥Ar HILB, of course, the old original edition is out of date on many things AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, g: ^ C§| f f and is succeeded by the Revised Edition, there have been numerous re- [^ ^ quests from beekeepers for the original work just as it appeared in 1853. ^ ^ The book should be of value to beekeepers in that it shows the development of ^ ^ beekeeping down to the time the book was written. This book, together with ^ ^ the revised edition, would complete a historical work. A number of devices, S IS . . ^ M schemes, etc., seemingly new to the beekeeper of today are described in the m ^ old Langstroth. Father Langstroth, without a doubt, has done more to [^ ^ modernize and advance beekeeping than any other man. This fact alone ^ ^ should make the book valuable. We offer the old reprint at the special post- ra ^ paid price of $1.00, or we club it in the following combinations: ^ J^ ^ ^ D • t f I i >l. ei AA I BOTH FOR ONLY ^ s Reprint of Langstroth $1.00 1 ^ I Langstroth Revised 1.20 j $1.85 | I Reprint of Langstroth $1 .00 1 '^\'''''^ | ^ American Bee Journal 1.00l$1-5O ^ I All Three Above for Only $2.50 I ^ — ^ ^ ... ^ ^ We can also send the reprint with Gleanings in Bee Culture for $1.50, ^ ^ or with ABC and X Y Z of Bee Culture for $2.50, or with both Gleanings and ^ ^ American Bee Journal 1 year for $2.25. We are booking orders now. De- k^ ^ livery of the reprint can be madae bout February 1st, as it is still on the press. ^ ^ ' ^ I ADDRESS ALL ORDERS TO | ^ • ^ I aini-.Kii am km-. iniiKinai. i ^ Hamilton, Illinois ^ January, 1914. American IS^e Journal ' II' goods are ivanted quick, send to Ponder.' BEE-SUPPLIES EQUIPMENT Store room built expressly for the business; large concrete basement with just enouRh mois- ture to prevent breakage in sections; no shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. AtlAIITY ^"^ot goods at factory prices. The kind that I have V****^*" ■ sold for nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I mi^hl have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but I would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsibility in safe delivery of the goods. Catalog free. WALTER S. POUDER, Indianapolis, Ind. 873 Massachusetts Avenue m^^ r^S| Ml ^^fl 1 i^^B SO!WOS<>Q<>S<>COOOOOCCCOS<>OCC06CC<>OOCCOOOOGOSOQCCOS<>8eOOe« Dittmer's Foundation Is the Comb Foundation made to suit the Honey Bee. It's the Comb Foundation that helps pro- duce the full capacity honey crop. >;>ocono!>sceoesoQcocccoscosiooeosciooecooG09ooQi90oooooooo! It's the Comb Foundation to give your Honey Bees. |j Ask for more information ; also prices and FULL DISCOUNT on all Bee-Supplies. Gus s Company Augusta, Wisconsin BEE - KEEPER'S NOVELTY POCKET - KNIFE Your Name and Address will be put on one side of the handle as shown in the cut. and on the other^ side a picture of a Queen-Bee, a Worker-Bee, and a Drone-Bee. Tlie handle is celluloid, and transparent, through which is seen your name. If you lose this Knife it can be returned to you, or it serves to iden- tify you if you happen to be injured fatally, or rendered unconscious. The cut is the e.xact size; it is made'of best steel. When ordering be sure to write exact name and address. Knife delivered within two weeks after we receive order. Price, postpaid, $1.00; or with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal — both for $1.80; or given Free as a premium for sending us 3 New sub- scriptions at $1.00 each. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. Manufacturers OF THE "NONE BETTER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Thirty Years' Experience Perfect sections from youne, white, basswood. White Pine Hives and Supers. Excellent Shipping ■ Cases. Brood-Frames, Separators, etc. We invite your correspondence. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wis. (jSwarth^more.( Am Now Shipping UDtested Qoccns from My CELEBRATED PEDIGREED STRAIN! .My bees are the product of many years of breed- ing by both Swarthmore and Henry Alley. Both names stand out like ___, beacon lightsamong our '^ past and present breed- ers, for the best queens erer produced in the United States. Never had foul brood. SWARTHNORE APIARIES, Swarthmore, Pa. DO YOU READ PROGRESSIVE POULTRY JOURNAL ? It is published in Mitchell. South Dakota, and is a live paper devoted to the interests of better poultry and more of it. Has prac- tical writers of experience in raising poul- try Well illustrated. Send for free copy. Progressive Poultry Journal Mitchell, South Dakota THE Discount and Dull Season is here. Send us a list of goods wanted for next year, and get our prices— a money sav- ing proposition. We have the largest, most complete and best stock of any House vis- itors welcome. Catalog ready in January- it's free. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, Illinois. Great Family Combination Offer We do not know of any Family Weekly that we can more heartily recommend to our readers than The Youth's Companion. It gives us pleasure; therefore, to announce that we have arranged with the publishers, to make the following offer: The American Bee Journal ^^^^fr 'T The Youth's Companion $2 Both papers together for One Year $2.50 To lake advantage of this club rate send all subscriptions to this office. f> I An Active Season is Here! A carload of perfectly new goods is just on hand from the factory, and another car is expected any day, and the factory has booked us for four cars. This brings up our assortment so thatw; can now furnish almost anything listed in the catalog at once. Hives should be ordered at once if they are to be ready for swarms. Frames, and other inside fixtures, too, should be put together now. If you are wanting any special goods, orders should be made at once. Other cars are ccn-ing regularly from the factory, and we can save you considerable in transportation charges by having your goods come with ours in the car. The mailing of our new catalog was completed some time ago. If you are not on our mailing list send us a postal-card request for this catalog. If you want to buy in quantities considerably larger than quoted in the catalog, give us a list of your needs and we will quote price accordingly. If you have never tried Root quality goods, make a beginning this season. You will not be disappointed in results. Our branch is maintained for service in this line and we can give it to your entire satisfaction. We are sole agents in Ohio for the Roller Tray Incubator and Brooder — the best in the market. Write for our catalog. C. H. W. WEBER & CO. 2146 Central Avenue. CINCINNATI, OHIO. , -1 ."r Send for our prices ON BEESWAX We are paying higher prices than ever before at this season. Why ? Because of the tremendous demand for Dadanf s Foundation Write at once. We will quote you F. O. B. here or F. O. B. your Station, whichever you desire .^ 1. r^^LL^ii; February, 1914. I American l^ee Journal ^.^tMmMiaji^,^^ PUBLISHED MONTHLY HY American Bee Journal 1st Nat'l Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $i.oo a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. Ji.io; and in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December, igr^. SUBSCRIPTION RPZCEIPTS.-We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 4 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 3 times 14c a line 0 times iic a line 6 " I2c " 12 " (i yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices. 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 2Sth of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Centle. More IndastriOQS. Long Tongaed, Tlie Best Honey-Gstherers. I'Kl/.l'.S:— VI Swi.'.s Agricultur.il Exposi- tion. Berne. i8g5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. i8g6. Bee-Keeping' Exhibition. Liege Belgium. i8q6. Bee-Keeping E.\hibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany;. Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1Q07. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Extra BreedingQueens. Si.oo: Selected. S2. 00; F'ertilized. $1.51'; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Satearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of the/ ANTHONY BIACCI, National Bee-^- Pedevilia. near Beliinzona, Keepers' Ass'n) Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. s This is the Discount Season on a ^ ^ ^ BEE-SUPPLIES AND BEES ^ i I 8" IS yours tor tne asking, uatalogon A request. Q k I. J. STRINGHAM $ b 105 Park Place, New York O V| APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. V Write us stating what you are in need of. and we will quote you. If you sell supplies our discount sheet is yours for the asking. Catalog on rcfiuest. I. J. STRINGHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. p It Turns Over an Important "New Leaf" h H Beginning with the January Number H H The Guide to Nature H SEVERAL NEW FEATURES ■' Birds in the Bush." a department edited by ICdmund .1. Sawyer, with illustrations from original drawings by this talented artist-ornithologist "The Fun of Seeins; Things." a department for young folks, edited by Ed- ward E. Bigelow. succeeding his well-known work as editor of the"Nature Science" department of "St. Nicholas" for more than fourteen years. This department will be really new. It will not be " schooly." not " nature study." not to induce parents and educators to say. " It is good for the chii dren." but it will appeal directly to the young folks themselves, and will help them to enjoy natural objects that surround them. It will be true to its name. Subscription, $1.00 a year Single copy, 10c To new subscribers: (during February only) 6 months' trial for 25c Address (and make check or money order payable to) THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION ArcAdiA Sound Beach, Connecticut SxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxS WE ARE IN THE MARKET For Both Extracted and Comb Honey Would like to hear from those having Fancy and Number One Comb Honey. State best price de- livered Cincinnati. We want Extracted Honey, too. No lot too large or too small for us. We re- mit the very day shipment is received. THE FRED W. MUTH COMPANY "The Busy Bee-Men" 204 Walnut Street, CINCINNATI, OHIO P. S. — Ship us your old comb and let us render them for you. Our pro- cess extracts the last drop of wax from the slumgum. We make money for you, if you will ship us your old combs and cappings for rendering. Write for full particulars. r 1 OOOOOOOOOQOOOOSOSCOCiSOCOSCOQiOOeOSOSGOSOOeoeGGCGCCi NARSHFIELD GOODS BEE-KEEPERS :— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. 1 We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. 9)oa Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis. | oooQoooocoscosicceooecGososeooooQcooooooosaoeoocoooei February, 1914. American Hee -Jonrnal "Scientific Queeii-Kearing " No other book compares with this one written by Mr. G. M. Doolittle. He is an expert in the business. It tells just how the very best queens can be reared. Bound in cloth. By mail, $1.00 ; or with the American Bee Journal, one year — both for $1.00. In leatherette binding, 7o cents, postpaid ; or with the American Bee Journal one year — both for $1.23. Send to the American Bee Journal Early (FRO FALCON ) Queens "ITALIANS" Untested Queens to June ist $i.oo each. After June i. goc each. Special prices in large quantities. A 5-pound bucket of Oranec Blossom Honey delivered at your door by express for Si.ro. JOHN C. FROHLIGER, 1642 Milvia Street, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco, Calif. Falcon Bee-Supplies, etc. Please mention Am. Bee Journal wtiea writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan bred in separate yards, ready March 20. Untested, one. $1: six. $5; 12. $«: 25. $17 50; 50. $34; 100. $6.s. Tested, one, $1.50: six, 58; 12. $15. Breeders of either strain, $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame, $2,50; six one-frame. $15; two-frame$3.5o; six two-frame $20.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame, $3,00; six one-frame. Ji7.4o; two-frame. $4; six two-frame $2V4o, Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R (Trade mark AT ALL DEALERS I HONEY SAVES ^TIME I MONEY Each, 15c; Doz., $1.65, po.stpaid If your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lewistown, Illinois BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hive-bod- ies. Smokers, etc. We have a quantity of these made especially for our readers, with the ; name American Bee Journal in gilt * on the cover. Each Binder holds the issues for three years. When bound your Bee Journals will appear to be in genuine book form. The price of this Binder alone is $1.00. We club it together with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal, both for $1.60. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land — None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H. S. Duby. St. Anne, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your Queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings Laws' queens above the usual standard: bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April 1st. About 50 first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices; Tested. Ji.25; 5 for $5.00; Breeders, each $5.00. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. DAIf NtO Machinery Read what J. L Parent, of Charl- ton, N. Y., says: "TVe cut with on* of your Combined Machlnea, last winter. 60 chaff hives *itli 7-ln cap, 100 honey-racks, 600 brood-framei^ t,000 honey-boxeiHL and ft groat deai\ of other work. ThlB winter we havf doable the anioimt of bee-hl veB,et>o.« to maJce.and we expect to do Hwltb thlB Saw. It will do all you say It wiU." Catalog and prlce-llBt tr** Addiwi. W. H. * jrOHBT BARHU February, 1914. American Hee Journal j| Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper Kor several years we have been doing our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable ptibiication for tlie wideawake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in vin. when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we i)refer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for wu Kor I.;i4 we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years In decidiuir just what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February isth issue for IQI2. In Ketting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raisint^ and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY — Bees and Fruit.— Our March isth issue for IQ12 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed. however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subject. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in ^twt-r-production. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1 — Beekeeping in Cities. — Probably few beekeepersrealize the number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic. and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by [professional men. we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a //-«(• story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A pood story. APRIL — Breeding Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted queen-breeders on ciualifications of breeding queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1 — Moving Bees We, ourselves, expect to move 300 colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto-truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. -1 here has never yet been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop 2nd market reports from various parts of the country In lou we are going to make the effort of our lives to get telegraph reports from impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt. Texas Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we get them, but in this August ist issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- ports and conditions of the market in gen- eral, No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1 Wintering.— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of IQ13-14. which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South, IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for 1Q14. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price, $1.00, will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio White Sweet Clover Seed Sweet Clover is rapidly becoming one of the most useful things that can be grown on the farm. Its value as a honey-plant is well known to bee-keepers, but its worth as a forage-plant and also as an enricher of the soil is not so widely known. However, Sweet Clover is coming to the front very fast these days. Some years ago it was considered as a weed by those who knew no better. The former attitude of the enlightened farmer today is changing to a great respect for and appreciation of Sweet Clover, both as a food for stock and as a valuable fertilizer for poor and worn-out soils. The seed should be sown either in the fall or early in the spring. 20 to 25 pounds per acre of unhulled seed is about the right quantity to sow. We can ship promptly at the following prices for the white variety : Postpaid, one pound for 30 cents, or 2 pounds for 50 cents. By express, f. o. b. Hamilton — 5 pounds for 80c ; 10 pounds for $1.50 ; 25 pounds for $3.75 ; 50 pounds for $7.00 ; or 100 pounds for $13.00. Seed will be shipped on receipt of order American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. MKEHOREMOmY Blanke's Bee- Book Free JOHNNIE-ON'THE-SPOT DELIVERIES When you order Bee Goods, you want them " now"— we are in the very heart of the Bee Sect ion — no city with so good package car service— largest stock west of the Mississippi. When- ever possible, orders shipped same dayas received— more carefully pack- ed than ordinary. Blanke's Bee-book Free — a catalog tilled with helpful tips for either be- ginner or old tinier. Write today be- fore you need supplies. Department 1 Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co. St. Louis, Missouri FOR SALE Fine Three-banded Southern Q U E E NS Untested. Ji.om; tested. $; oo. My best. $i oo. My bees are gentle, prolitic. and fine hust- lers Gfve nie a trial order and be convinced. J. L. LEATH, - - - Corinth," Miss. I When You Buy % I Lewis Beeware I I YOU GET I ^2 LGWIS OUdlitV Which means that all Lewis Hives are made out of *^ #{ ^HH^^Hi^^^Hi^^^^HH clear white pine, and Lewis Sections made out of T^ ^r fine white basswood. Material in these goods is the best obtainable, selected ^? ^ by experts. J^ M Lewis Workmanship '^^^^ ^^^i^^^'^tory is equipped with ^ ^f H^^^Bl^H^^^aHl^^^^^^BailHHHl the latest improved machinery, con- j^ M^ stantly watched by experts. The Lewis head mechanic has 36 years of bee- 4^ ^T supply experience ; the superintendent of bee-hive department, 30 years ; the . ^ ^C superintendent of sections, 29 years. These and many other skilled men have 3^ ^ a hand in all the Lewis goods you buy. ^ ^ , ' ^ ^i LeiA/is PaCkinS ah Lewis Beeware is carefully and accurately .^^ ^^ ^^i^^BH^^Bi^^^BH^HHHH packed- — a patent woven wood-and-wire package j^ '^ made only by the Lewis Company is employed largely in packing ; this makes ^^ ^ the package light, compact and damage-proof. j^ % ^ l_6\A/iS Service Years ago all goods were shipped direct from the 4^ ^^^^i^Bi^^a^^^^^^^^ factory with attending high freight-rates and de- ^^ lays during the honey season ; now Lewis Beeware can be obtained almost at ^^ ^( your own door. Over 30 Distributing Houses carrying Lewis Beeware by the J^ carload, are dotted all over the United States and foreign countries. Write ^s for the name of the one nearest you. ^^ ^ Our New Catalog for 1914 is Now Out. Send for One ^ G. B. Lewis Company, I It Manufacturers of Beeware, ^ Watertown, - - Wisconsin ^ ^r^^i^it^^^^^'i^^^^^s^ ^^^ s^^s^^^^mt^ (Entered as second-class matter at the Post office at Hamilton. HI . under Act of March 3. 18-0 Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building C. p. DAD ANT, Editor. DR. C. C. MILLER, Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL, FEBRUARY, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 2 Foul Brood auci 3Ioths Combined On our front cover we give the pho- tograph of two brood-combs taken by Inspector Frank C. Pellett, on one of his tours this summer. Aside from the fact that the combs are examples of the worst possible type of American foul brood, they a re also being devoured by the moths. Notice the honey at the top of each comb. Even if hives be completely closed from bees, as soon as the moths destroy the comb suffi- ciently, the honey will run, leak out of the hive, and spread infection. Deimith's Goldeu Words Right in the center of page 15 are given some words of G. S. Demuth, that should be the central thought of every beekeeper. He recommends tite bt'eeding of a bee ivhich has the storing instinct to an intensified degree. And that is a work, not alone for experts or specialists; but every beekeeper, begin- ner, as well as veteran, should have his part, whether his colonies be few or many. Let it be earnestly urged upon the young beekeeper, ambitious to be in the lead, that he can now make his plans for the coming season to breed from his best stock. He may have no exact knowledge as to how his colo- nies compare for efficiency, but he can make a fair guess as to which colony or colonies exceededthe others in their performance in 1913; and then let him make up his mind that during the sea- son of 1914 he will keep close tab of all colonies, putting down in black and white their performance, and then he may know definitely what stock to breed from in 1916. Pouder's Parcel Post Package One of these packages, as illustrated on page 10, was received at Marengo. A slit was made down through the paper with the small blade of a pen- knife, allowing it to be easily peeled off. Then the cone was stood upon a plate to be placed on the table. Can- died honey could hardly be put in a more tempting form, only the cone looks pretty tall for the size of the base. Bees of Same Colony Fighting On page 21, Arthur C. Miller says when combs with adhering bees are taken from the hives of some colonies and leaned against convenient objects, and then returned to the hive after 10 minutes or more, a violent fight takes place between the bees of adjacent combs ; and on page 8 Dr. Miller says this is something new to him. Per- haps the kind of bees has something to do in the case. Arthur C. Miller writes : " The bees that did the fighting were pure Cyprians. Later I had similar ex- periences with crosses of that race, and some ' Goldens ' now and then will do more or less quarreling among themselves.'' J. L. Byer Kight— and Wrong (?) Mr. J. L. Byer, you are quite right in thinking that we had a wonderful flow of honey in 1913, page 14. I never knew its equal. But in comparing On- tario with Illinois it sounds as though youthinki have a better place for good crops than you. If so, I think you're wrong. You have other things than white clover to depend upon. I have no basswood to speak of, and little of anything else that can be counted on for a crop. True, alsike is beginning to come in, and fall flowers make a nice little supplement to the white-clover crop — when there is a white-clover crop — but everything aside from white clover amounts to so little that when white clover fails I count it a year of failure. And years of failure are un- pleasantly frequent. If I were to start afresh in beekeeping, I wouldn't be likely to pitch my tent at Marengo. But when you speak of "the woman in the case " deserving credit, you are dead right without any "if" whatever. Miss Wilson did nearly all the work, and when you want work thoroughly done just set a full-blood Scotchwoman at it. When Miss Wilson tackles a job I can feel a good bit easier about its being done right than if I tackle it myself. Early Breeding In and Out of Cellar On page 20, Dr. Bonney speaking of chaff hives, says : "If given a choice between dovetail hives for out-of-door wintering and putting the bees in a cellar, I will take either of these hives, because being warm the bees begin breeding early, earlier than in the cel- lar." On the face of it the beginner is likely to understand that bees in a chaff hive breed earlier than in a cellar, be- cause bees in the chaff hive are warmer, which is entirely true; and he is likely to understand further that the chaff- hive bees are warmer than those in the February, 1914. American ^Bec Journal j cellar because the warmer place of the two. Instead of that we have the para- dox that the chaff-hive bees are warmer because tliey arc in the colder place. It is well known that in general bees be- gin breeding earlier outdoors than in cellar, and that without regard to the kind of hive used. Take two strong colonies in single-walled hives, cellar one and leave the other outdoors with little or no protection, and breeding may be expected earlier outdoors. The outdoor bees breed earlier because warmer, and they are warmer because in a colder place. The explanation is simple. An illustration will help. Take a sitting-room with a stove in it. The colder the day the hotter the fire kept in the stove. Same with the bees. The colder the surrounding atmosphere the higher the bees keep the temperature in the cluster by means of greater ac- tivity and consumption of stores. So taking three similar strong colonies, in cellar, in chaff hive outdoors, and in unprotected single-walled hive out- doors, other things being equal we should expect the earliest breeding in the unprotected hive, and the latest in the cellar. Putting ou a Super Upside Down C. B. Palmer writes endorsing Dr. Miller's plan of using bottom starters in sections, but he put on one super upside down, and says if you want to see how much honey bees can cram into one super, just try one upside down. That plan has never been tried "in this locality," but one is curious to know in how many pieces each section had to be cut to get it out of the super. Mr. Palmer is the man who ships section honey in candy pails. In the past season he shipped thus in very hot weather, and not a single section out of a thousand was broken. "Canards" Some bee-papers of Europe are stirred, and more or less satirical, over the information that an Indiana bee- keeper has succeeded in breeding a stingless race of bees. We have not heard of it on this side of the ocean. Such news are properly called "ca- nards" (ducks), for they can lly fully as fast as wild ducks. sian contemporaries are not so illiter- ate, and that they have plenty of schol- ars capable of reading the American Bee Journal, which we gladly send in exchange. So let us not look at the mote in our brother's eye, but remove the beam which is in ours. and our heartfelt sympathy goes to t^^ bereaved husband. Foreign Bee Journals For some months past we have been receiving both a Russian and Japanese Bee Journal. In spite of our boasted civilization and advancement, we have been unable to find a student capable of reading either. We will venture the assertion that our Japanese and Rus- A Generous Secretary We receive the following letter from our good friend J. F. Diemer, Secretary of the Missouri State Beekeepers' Asso- ciation. No comments are necessary. The beekeepers of Missouri should be proud of their secretary: " I wish you would announce in the American Bee Journal for February, that while the secretary was allowed 25 percent of the collections, by vote, he will not accept it. Every cent paid to me by the charter members of our new association will be used to the best advantage of the association. I admit that the secretary has lots of work to do, but I will enjoy the work more than I would the percent, if beekeepers throughout the proud old State of Mis- souri will help make this association a thoroughly successful one, to the credit of themselves and the industry." J. F. Diemer. Exaggeration The reader will find in this number the translation of an article written for L' Apiculture Nouvelle by Mr. Crepieux- Jamin, who is not only an experienced apiarist, but a capable physician, and perhaps the most renowned grapho- logist in the entire world. The article has to do with exaggera- tion in statements on honey and its virtues. The same writer also criticizes the eulogies given to bee-stings as a sure cure for rheumatism. We do not give this part of his argument, because it has to do with an extravagant state- ment made in some European bee- journals by an Austrian physician. Dr. Terc. Mr. Crepieux-Jamin argues that rheumatism is due to various causes, and is usually only a symptom of some organic trouble, such as arthritism. He asserts, therefore, that it is useless generally to rely upon it to cure, or to have more than a local effect; that it cannot remove or " modify the deep- seated causes of arthritism which must be looked for in heredity, in a too sed- entary life, too rich food, the use of alcohol and meat, a damp climate or other causes." That is probably why we have contradictory statements as to the effect of bee-stings in rheumatism. They are not universally efficient and are not suited to every case. Mr. Crepieux-Jamin had the sorrow to lose his devoted and amiable wife on Dec. 11 last, at the age of hX She is regretted by all those who knew her. The Two Foul Broods More and more it becomes apparent that confusion arises from having the name "foul brood" applied to two separate and distinct diseases. The case would be different if the distinc- tion were always made between Ameri-. can and European foul brood. Un- fortunately the distinction is not al- ways made — indeed, not often. So we are often in the dark. For illustration take that interesting summary of the Minnesota inspector's report, page 8. We find that 6 percent of the colonies inspected were found diseased (but with what disease?), and that 10 percent of the diseased colonies were destroyed. That probably means that combs, bees, everything but the hive itself was de- stroyed. If one out of ten diseased with American foul brood was so bad as to warrant destruction it was bad enough; but it is hard to imagine one out of ten so badly diseased with Eu- ropean foul brood as to make it advis- able to destroy bees and combs. For the sake of the foul-brood laws it may be necessary to call the two dis- eases each by the same name, "foul I brood, but let the distinctive term < "American " or " European " always be added. It may be argued that it takes up too much room to write out the full name "American foul brood." Well, then, give the contraction, "A. f. b. ;" that's even shorter than to write the indefinite term "foul brood." Those Hive Covers Wesley Foster doesn't approve of the hive covers he thinks he saw in my cellar (see page 12). Sorry I wasn't there, Wesley, to demonstrate those covers to you. I should have orated something after this style: "What- ever difference of opinion there may be . between us as to painted or unpainted hives, we are at one in agreeing that no unpainted wooden cover should be tolerated. Please take a closer look at the covers you see in this cellar, that on account of the dim light and be- cause of previously conceived opinion you call unpainted wood. Instead of that the surface is of zinc, and not even Colorado weather will make cracks in zinc to let the wet through upon the nice sections. Let me tell you how those covers are constructed. First, a layer of fs-inch boards with the grain running crosswise. Upon the outer edge of this, clear around, lie cleats Ji- inch thick and an inch wide, upon which is a second layer of J^-inch February, 1914. American "Bee Journal boards with the grain of the wood run- ning lengthwise, and over all a cover- ing of zinc. I have some covered with tin, but zinc is better because it doesn't need to be painted. That -s-inch air- space makes the cover warmer when it is cold, and cooler in hot weather. But that isn't altogether the reason for making the cover in that way. No single-board cover of J^-inch stuff will remain a close fit, paint ot no paint. The boards will warp. Put a cast-iron cleat at each end, so that the ends are held rigidly straight, and the whole thing will twist in a great number of cases, so that one corner will let a bee pass. The covers that you see, with boards so thin, and with the grain run- ning in opposite directions, remain a close fit a/zcays. A cover of that kind costs, but it's worth all it costs." Please dismiss from your mind the notion that I advocate unpainted wood- en covers. Now about unpainted hives " gaping open at all the corners." I never kept bees in Colorado, but I'm just wondering whether you kno-u' from actual trial that unpainted dovetailed •corners, properly nailed, will gape, or whether you're just guessing. Years ago I had gaping corners, and they were painted at that. But they were not dovetailed. My dovetailed corners don't gape. If your climate will make them gape, it would seem that at least some of mine should do a little yawn- ing. But they don't. If yours do, that's no concern of mine. Error iu Aclvertiseiiient We acknowledge error in setting up prices in Mr. H. H. Thale's advertise- ment in January issue. The prices will appear correctly on the advertising pages of this number. <>0 Pounds Net on Cans Shipped iu Interstate Commerce There has been no little complaint from honey dealers that beekeepers were too careless in filling their cases of honey. For instance, one firm re- ports a variation in the net weight of cases in one carload of from 113 pounds to 129 pounds, where the net weight should be 12i) pounds. Naturally such practices will reflect directly, in the end, upon the producers. In connection we quote from a letter on this subject from Mr. Frank Rauchfuss, of Colo- rado, considered as one of the' best authorities on honey packing and ship- ping : " Place yourself in the dealer's posi- tion in order to realize what a hardship this difference in weight is causing. Honey in Interstate Commerce »nisl have a specified net weight marked on the cases, and in so far as 00 pounds net is the standard for a 5-gallon can of honey, (iO pounds of honey must go into each can, even if the doing of the same causes additional work. It is considerable more to the other party that is handing your honey to the con- sumer than it is to you. If the honey is extracted warm, and it is somewhat difficult to get 00 pounds net weight into the can, you can allow it to cool and then put enough more in to make the required net weight, or, if the honey is packed at the out-yard where there is no proper facility for weigh- ing, you should make sure that not more than (iO pounds is put into the can, and when the honey is brought home, sufficient more is put in to make each can 60 pounds net." Miscellaneous m^ News Items Red-Clover Bees. — '.'When we are asked whether we will guarantee that one strain will work on red clover, we always reply in the negative. .-Ml we can honestly say is that they will work on red clover if any strain will; and even then only when conditions are favorable." That is fair and honest. The "red clover tongue" is a myth. — British Bee Journal. Bee-Culture in Oregon We are just in receipt of a 140-page book put out under the supervision of the Oregon Agricultural College, entitled " The Oregon Farmer." The book deals with farming conditions, etc., in that State. One chapter, entitled " Bee-Culture in Oregon," was written by Mr. H. F. Wilson, Assistant in Entomology. Mr. Wilson has gone very thoroughly into his subject with the figures available. He gives a map showing the distribu- tion of bees in the State, and ? table giving the results of personal letters sent out to over 400 beekeepers. Apiaries ranging from one to 700 colonies are found in the State. Al- though most of the farms reporting bees are to be found in the Willamette Valley, yet the largest commercial api- aries are located in central and south- ern Oregon, where alfalfa is the main source of nectar. Professor Wilson advises thorough investigation before locating. He as- serts that beekeeping is yet in its in- fancy, and that there are many favor- able localities where bees could be kept on a large scale for profit. .\ny one interested in procuring a copy of this booklet should address Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, Oreg., asking for a copy of the 1913 Oregon Farmer, issued by the college. Northern Nichigan Meeting. — The Northern Michigan Association, affil- iated with the National Beekeepers' As- sociation, will hold its meeting at Pe- toskey, Mich., March 10 and 11, 1914. The court room of the City Hall has been promised us by Mayor Reycraft and a very low rate of $2 00 per day has been given us at the Cushman House. Many prominent beekeepers are ex- pected, and a very interesting program is promised. For further information address the secretary, Ira D. Bartlett, of East Jordan, Mich. National Field Day Proposed for Can- ada The Toronto Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, which has been holding an an- nual field day each year, has become so enthusiastic over such meetings that it proposes, if possible, to make the meet a national affair. The following is a letter written to sister associations in Canada, asking for their co-operation : The Toronto Beekeepers' Associa- tion, at a recent meeting, having de- cided to hold their third annual Field Day meet on May 24, at the apiary of Mr. H. G. Sibbald, of Forks of the Credit, extend to you a cordial invita- tion to unite with them to make this event not a local effort only, but a na- tional annual gathering of the most progressive of our ranks. Last year the Toronto Beekeepers' Association was very fortunate in securing the co-operation of the Peel and Halton Association, and through their united efforts succeeded in hold- ing the greatest Field Day meet ever held in Canada. But the promoters of these meetings have not been satisfied to let the matter rest at this point. They aim to build up the annual Field Day meet, which will be to the frater- nity what the Canadian National Exhi- bition is to the exhibition enterprises of the world. You will readily agree with us that no local organization, no matter how strong, can carry out such an undertak- ing alone. It must have the co-opera- tion and active support of all the bee- keepers' associations in Canada. In view of this fact, we will cheer- fully retire our claims to priority for the welfare of the larger movement. Assuming that you accept the princi- ple, we would suggest that this move- ment be called the Canadian National Annual Field Day Meet. Until the movement has been thor- oughly organized and put upon a sound basis, we, the Toronto Beekeepers' As- sociation are prepared to take care of American ISae Journal all the routine and clerical work in- volved in such a departure with one stipulation only, and that is that the local associations undertake such cam- paign work as will be necessary in each county to create a keen interest in the meet. We are in receipt of a communica- tion from Mr. Morley Pettit, Provincial Apiarist, giving the movement his blessing, and promising an enthusiastic co-operation. We respectfully urge on you the im- portance of immediate attention to this communication. You cannot get your association in motion too early. Ex- perience of the past two years has taught us the necessity of starting at once, as this will take at least three months to get all the details worked out. While we feel that it is your privilege to suggest a program, we are prepared to submit an idea or draft, after which we can proceed to get a diflferent pro- gram under way. Chas. E. Hopper, Sec. Death of C. N. White— We regret to record the death of Mr. C. N. White, of St. Neots, England, whose family picture we gave on page 420 of the De- cember number. He was a very active and progressive member of the British Beekeepers' Association. He wrote articles on bees under the nom de plume of "Iva." He died Nov. 18, 1913. Exporting to the United States.— In- quiries have been made through the consul-general at Auckland regarding the shipping of honey to the United States. — S'e-w Zealand Farmer. Mr. SchoU a Poultry Expert.— This office is in receipt of the catalog of the Guadalupe Valley Poultry Association of Texas. The bulletin was compiled by Mr. Louis H. Scholl, our corres- pondent in Texas. He was also on the premium-list committee of the associa- tion which held its show on Dec. 11 to 14, 1913. The best cup given at the show is called the " Scholl Cup." It must be won by the same exhibitor three years in succession to become his property. Second-Hand Cans Prohibited. — There is a government provision in Australia to the effect that second hands cannot be used for the storing of any food products. This ruling was recom- mended by the pure-food commission, with the direct aim of prohibiting the use of tins which had contained petro- leum. Good Prospects in New Zealand Ac- cording to E. G. Ward, president of the Canterbury Beekeepers' Association, chances for a good season in New Zea- land are very bright. Fruit bloom was good, and bees are in excellent shape. Clover was beginning to bloom when the report was written for the New Zealand Farmer. The seasons in this country are just the opposite of ours; they have their winters while we are having our crop and <■/« versa. Honey Yield, 800,000 Pounds.- The honey production of Yakima Co., Wash., for 1913, totaled 500,000 pounds, one- third of the entire product of the State, according to J. B. Ramage, secretary of the State Beekeepers' Association. The Walla Walla valley is credited with producing as much as Yakima county, and the rest comes from all over the State. — Exchange. Apiculture at the Panama-Pacific In- ternational Exposition. — Due to San Francisco's perpetual spring-time, which keeps the flowers abloom through every month of the year, the exhibits of bee-culture at the Panama- Pacific International Exposition, to be held in San Francisco in litlT), promise to be more extensive and interesting than anything of the kind ever seen be- fore. The gardens about the various courts and promenades will be bright with flowers from the opening of the Expo- sition, Feb. 20, 191-5, to the closing day, Dec. 4. In view of this, it has been suggested that many colonies of bees be kept to feed upon the flowers, and fill their combs with honey in hives of glass in full view of Exposition visitors. Such an exhibit, to show the life and activities of a busy colony of bees, would acquaint millions of people with the marvelous science of apiculture. It would afiford every man, woman and child visiting the Exposition, an opportunity of watching bees gathering honey from the flowers. By walking Ai'iAKio DE I Alls Danger, Santiago de cuha. Manipulating a Modern Hive in Cuba. Luis Danser, of Santiaeo de Cuba. through the gardens to the glass-cased hives, the visitors then could see the bees on the combs contributing their share to the honey output. The queens, workers and drones would be seen in their daily life, performing their indi- vidual duties in the great hive organi- zation. Thomas G. Stallsmith, chief of the Bureau of Agriculture, under which apiculture is classified, conceived the idea of such an exhibit and presented it to prominent beektepers. He has received many promises of co-opera- tion in the matter of exhibits, and it is expected that this will be one of the most striking and fascinating features of the Exposition. Both the California State Beekeepers' Association and the National Beekeep- ers' Association have been invited to hold their 191f) conventions in San Francisco during the Exposition. While neither organization has taken definite action, it is hoped that they will assemble in San Francisco during February, 1914. American Vae Journal that year, which would add greater im- portance to the apiarian displays. The California State Beekeepers' As- sociation, at its convention last year, sent an invitation to the National asso- ciation to assemble in San Francisco during the E.xposition year. At the same time the State organization took steps toward preparing for its own ex- hibit, and M. H. Mendleson, of Ven- tura, Calif., was given charge of this work. The idea of the two conventions was heartily endorsed by the Stanislaus County Beekeepers' Club, a California organization, and its members were greatly enthused over the project. While it is expected that a great dis- play will be made on bees, the bi-pro- ducts of the industry will not be over- looked. Honey, wa.x and kindred pro- ducts will be given due attention in the Palace of Food Products, and e.xhibits from many parts of the United States are expected. H. M. Wright. Bee-Keeping ^ For Women Conducted bv Miss Emm.\ M. Wilson. Mareneo. 111. More About Our Crop of Honey Editor Dadant is interested to know something more about our crop of honey, and has sent a list of questions as follows : 1. " About how many frames did those bees have filled with brood at the height of the breeding season ?" The hives used were 8-frame, and it was unusual to find an outside frame that contained no brood. Perhaps more often were the two outside frames fairly well filled. Of course, some pol- len was present, but there was very little honey in the brood-chambers. Many of the central combs were filled with brood, every cell being filled up to the top-bar. Some say that with the frames as deep as the Langstroth, there is always a space of one or two inches under the top-bars filled with pollen and honey, and they make* this an ar- gument for shallower frames. Our bees don't work that way. Dur- ing the height of brood-rearing, as al- ready stated, they have little or no space between the brood and the top- bar. Possibly in hives where it is the rule to have brood one or two inches below the top-bar. it is because of the sagging of the foundation in the upper part of the frame, stretching the cells so that the queen will not use them. With our foundation splints there is no such sagging. A few colonies, which were allowed two stories up to the time of harvest, had 12 or 14 frames of brood. 2. "How do they compare with each other for proportion of Italian blood, and which were the best yielders, the nearest to pure Italians or the nearest to common bees ?" Yellow blood predominated, some classed as " very yellow," having more than three bands, ranging from that down to "dark." In reporting accord- ing to color, those should be left out which changed queens during the sea- son, since in such colonies there might not be uniformity of color from first to last. Of those which held the same queen throughout the season : 1 very yellow colony gave 384 sections 3 yellow colonies averaged 345 " 6 3-banded colonies aver- aged 337 10 colonies, mostly 3-band- ed, averaged 316 sections 3 hybrid colonies averaged 311 " 1 dark colony gave 309 " This seems a radical departure from what prevailed a few years ago, when the best storers were likely to be the darkest, whereas at present there seems a reversal of that rule, and the number shades from 384 for the yellowest down to 309 for the darkest. Now will the queen never went up into the sections, so that there would have been no dif- ference made by the use of excluders, unless there should have been a slight hindrance to the bees in passing through them. It is only fair, how- ever, to add that in the few exceptional cases there were some in which ex- cluders would have been a decided ad- vantage, not only because a number of sections were spoiled by brood, but be- cause sometimes the bees fooled us by putting queen-cells in the sections. In that case we were helpless, as we were not looking for queen-cells in sections, and could hardly have seen them any- way. But in nearly all cases the sec- tions were taken off before the queen- cells had time to hatch, there being only one case during the whole season where the cell actually hatched. In that case there was no other brood in the super; just the one queen-cell alone. .5. "Of course they were not cross while harvesting this big crop, but it would be interesting to know whether any of them were cross and when." Unfortunately it is hardly true to say that " they were not cross while har- vesting this big crop." There were some cross bees, one colony in partic- ular being very cross, and that right in the height of the flow, and one of the very best colonies, too. We knew there were cross bees in that vicinity, and the writer very strongly suspected The scenery is inspiring in Colorado, and you set an excellent chance to see it going from one mountain valley to another. rule be again reversed next year ? Only a year previous the two best colo- nies were among the darkest. 3. " Did you use any queen-excluders?" No excluders were used to keep the queen from going up into the sections. I. " If so, did you make any compari- son of results between colonies with and without excluders ?" No comparison could be made. With a very few exceptions, however, the the culprit, but did not want to admit it, as she knew that if convicted that queen's head would have to come off, for Dr. Miller is merciless in that re- spect. But one day it was so very plainly evident that it could not be ignored, so the search for her was re- luctantly begun, only to disclose the fact that the colony was already queen- less. A new queen of best stock was accordingly given, and the temper of 48 February. ISIH. American line Journal that colony began to improve imme- diately, not even waiting for the new generation of bees. Giving a more general answer to your question, it may be said that the season was of such a peculiar charac- ter that it could hardly be said that bees were crosser at one time than another. In most years there will be days now and then when the flow lets up a little or the weather is bad, and when the bees will be cross. This year it was good gathering weather right along. If a shower came, it came in the night, and the next day the bees were " on their job." For all that there were some cross bees all through the season. How many colonies were responsible for this it would be hard to say. In the main, our bees are better natured than thev were a few years ago. In the judgment of the writer their tempers are vastly improved: although Dr. Miller hardlyagrees with that view. The difficulty iii a correct judgment arises from the fact that a very few vicious colonies may furnish enough cross bees to give a bad reputation to the whole apiary. For years selection in breeding was made with the sole view of getting bees that would do the best storing, without any regard to their color or their temper. The result was an increase of the amount of lioney gathered, with an unpleasantly greater increase in the amount of stings. The bees were mostly hybrids of the vicious sort. Then pure Italian stock was in- troduced solelyfor the sake of improve- ment of temper, and now our bees are almost entireh Italians. All the same we are constantly sifting out those that show too much temper. Alfalfa or Sweet Clover Hay vs. Timothy Mrs. C. Theill says in the Practical Farmer : " A ton of alfalfa or sweet clover hay is worth three tons of timothy when fed in conjunction with corn products to cattle. Where one ton of timothy grows, two tons of clover or from three to five tons of alfalfa or sweet clover might have been grown. Furthermore, every spear of timothy hay takes fer- tility from the soil in the form of nitro- ■1 '^ii Robert E. Foster, of Rifle. Colo., dumuiiig a late swarm into a weak gunny-sack swarm catcher. rolony from his gen, and must some day be replaced to retain the fertility of the farm, whereas every spear of clover or alfalfa has the power to and does take out of the air nitrogen, and deposits it in the soil and leaves the ground richer in that neces- sary element." Southern Beedom^ Conducted by I.ouis H. Scholl. New Braunfels. Tex. The Texas Foul Brood Law It is Id bo vpgrottcil thai the beo- keepers of the Great Lone Star State, one of the leading honey producing states in the Union, are paying so little attention to organized effort. One of the results of this lack of in- terest is that today we are without protection against foul brood. We have an exoellent foul brood law, one that enables us to do i-tTeotive work, but this law is entirely inoperative on account of the lack of money to car- ry oil tho work. Without a suffioient appropriation by the I..egislature the best foul brood laws in the world mean little. FUNDS ARIi NEEUEI). It takes money to inspect bees, es- pecially in as large a state as Texas. It behooves the beekeepers to con- sider this well and prepare now to take the i)ropor stops, that w-e may obtain from the next Legislature the money required and protect our in- terests. FOUL BROOD WILL SPREAD. Unless we unite and pull together, we will not gain the results we should; and until we awaken to the fact that we must "roll up our sleeves" and work together with a determination to cheek the ravages of foul brood this disease will continue to spread and make tlie situation worse with continued delay. There have recently been several instances where diseased bees were moved from one place to another. This will continue as long as there is no prohibition backed by lawful en- forcement. There have been com- plaints to the effect that foul brood diseased bees were moved into terri- tory already occupied by healthy bees of iirogressive bee-keopers. What are they to do if our foul brood law is inoperative? WHY THE LACK OF INTEREST ? There are many beekeepers entire- ly unconcerned. They do not feel the need of tile inspection. There is no foul brood in their apiaries and. as far as they know, none in the neigh- borhood. Little do they realize how dangerously mistaken they are in Felirimry, 1914. American Hee Journal waiting until il actually appears in their apiaries or even in the neighbor- hood. It is far wiser to prevent the disease than to try to eradicate it af- ter it has come. Foul brood is not easily er.idicated. For that reason the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" applies most excellently here. By all means lot us not delay in giving this our most prompt attention and support. Let us decide upon the nuist effective meth- od for uniting efforts with a view of getting amjjle appropriations with which to operate our law. H.\S THE WORK BEEN S.VTISFAl TORV ? Much of the lack of interest in the foul brood inspection work, on the part of beekeepers has been due to doubt as to the efficacy with which the work has been handled. Beekeep- ers differ in their ideas as to how. and by whom it should be done. And while some have proclaimed the work entirely satisfactory there are those who believe it has been carried on in too much of a desultory manner to do the most good and that entirely too much attention has been given to cer- tain localities at the expense of others that needed inspection just as badly. It has even been averred that ascertain amount of favoritism or par- tiality toward one or two particular localities has been shown. While the work has been attended to with the greatest vigilance in one or two chos- en fields, complaints were made that foul brood bees were being moved from one place to another or exposed in various ways in other territory. It is doubtful, however, whether these cases were promptly reported so that proper attention could be given. SY.STEM.^TIC WORK NECESSARY. It is a difficult task to undertake the foul brood inspection work over so large a territory as that of the State of Texas. This accounts per- haps for more work being done in some localities with seeming neglect of others where Inspection was need- ed as much or more. Just which method is the wisest to follow is dif- ficult to say without a thorough trial. The most satisfactory results for the State at large cannot be ob- tained by diverting the entire atten- tion to only one or two localities, ev- en if the disease could be wholly eradicated there. It is unfair to the balance of the State. It is better to check the spread of foul brood in all localities alike, than to eradicate it entirely in one or two, permitting it to spread unhindered in others. Even then, the question as to whether the right kind and amount of work by those in charge is done should inter- est the beekeepers of our State. IN INITY THERE IS STRENGTH. It is to be hoped that there will be no further delay on the part of the beekeepers to a full realization of the necessity of providing for bee inspec- tion work in this State. When our next Legislature meets, let us be pre- pared for a strong, united effort to obtain the much needed approiiriatiou. can do their best only in a healthy 1-et us strive to bring forth every ar- gument having a bearing on this one most important subject — the necessity of fighting the ravages of foul brood. We are dependent upon the little honey-bees for a livelihood, and they condition. We are compellied by duty to take the proper cure and prf- (-uiitions to protect them from the ravages of disease. Working together it can be done. "In unity there is strength." Mr. K. G. Hall, of Molina. Colo., and Hi.s Honey House. Thirteen hundred cases of fine comb honey were stored in this house. Mr. Hall operates about 700 colonies. Em) Western ^ Bee-I^eping Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. Locations Found by Traveling The practice of a number of young men in spending considerable time traveling about over the country vis iting beekeepers and working in dif- ferent sections of the country is to be commended. The young men who have the opportunity and avail them- selves of it will have a fund of in- formation that will be worth much to them. Such an experience will teach them the value of a bee loca- tion where the men already there are uniformly successful. This is an acid test and one of the most re- liable. There are probably no loca- tions in the whole I'nited States where a young man could not get a start without crowding others too February, 1914. American Vee Jonrnal c-loselv. There are overstocked local- ities, "but where they are overstocked the bee men are not uniformly suc- cessful. The young man who travels over the country will find locations as good as the best in districts of com- mercial production where opportun- ities are almost unlimited, for one man at least. JUST AS AN E.XAMl'LE. Alexander Hilton wanted to keep more bees. He had one hundred and seventy-five colonies that he had in- creased from one hundred and fifty that season besides harvesting six- teen thousand sections of honey that brought him eighteen hundred and fiftv dollars. Then he had wax, vine- gar and extracted honey to bring his sales well past the two thousand mark. But he wanted to keep more bees. He had read the bee journals, all the government bulletins, and had h-ttended every bee convention with- in two hundred miles. He wondered if his bank would help him any. An inventory of his assets and liabilities was made out and he went and had a talk on bees with his banker. He told what his bees had done and how he had guided them in their work. The banker at once realized that Hilton knew his business, especially when Hilton said he wanted to buy two hundred two pound nuclei in the south, ship them north and put them in the new hives that he would pre- pare. He convinced the banker that he knew what he was about and that he had ample security for a loan of a thousand dollars to swing the deal. Hilton has ordered his nuclei by making a small payment down, the loan from the bank not being needed until May when the nuclei will be de- livered. Alex. Hilton may not get his hundred pound crop this year but the chances are that he will well nigh pay for those nuclei. CORRECT DISPLAY OF HONEY. Comb honey is in a class with fruit. The fruit stands have demonstrated the value of massing fruit together for display. Five red apples do not look so red and inviting as five hundred. What the customer requires is that his eye shall be filled with color. The same holds true of a honey display. The twenty-four pound section case for comb honey is convenient and sanitary, but it is not pre-eminent as a seller of honey. The grocer who buys five cases of honey, empties them all into a show case and fills it full, will sell much more honey than if he bought five cases, put four under the counter and one out on top of the counter for display. This is being forcibly demonstrated by a Boulder grocer who is selling hundreds of dollars worth by filling an upriglit bakery show case with several hun- dred pounds of honey and making a display that catches the eye of every person that comes into the store. He says that his honey business is double that of any year previous. Many grocers are practicing this method as the writer saw recently in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago. The need and use of the glass front shipping case is gradually passing. The sooner it does the more money will be saved the beekeeper. , Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. J05'. Ontario. Moderate but Steady Cold A letter from a friend in Ohio, under date of Jan. 7, says that they have 30 inches of snow on the level. In No- vember they had a like amount, but it went away before this latter fall. Here we have 3 inches of snow, and that is about all we have had this season. Conditions seem to be reversed this winter, but, of course, we may get lots of snow and severe cold later. In the meantime we have been enjoying mod- erate weather for our latitude, and the bees appear to be wintering nicely and quietly. Although it is moderate, we have not had any days since early in December that were warm enough to tempt bees to fiy. This kind of weather is much better than the warm spells we sometimes get in January, which have a tendency to start the bees rear- ing brood too early in the spring. ians' well known propensity for rob- bing. There is no question but that they are better to combat European foul brood than blacks, but what is the use of confusing the issue and making claims that cannot be substantiated ? February Work Like the preceding month, February in Ontario is a month of practically no work in the apiary, as usually our bees get no flights until March, and the snow that may accumulate around the hives is left alone until the days are warm enough for the bees to fly. These days of comparative leisure to the man who is engaged in beekeeping for a living, give time for reading, etc., while the system is recuperated so as to be able to stand the strenuous summer months. Naturally there is wax rendering, and its exchange for next year's supply of foundation ; and frame nailing and wiring. Some advise having founda- tion in frames ready for use when needed, but as our need of frames of foundation is never apparent until the season is on, I never put the founda- tion in until assured that it will be needed, as filled frames are a nuisance to carry over winter, and foundation thus held is apt to deteriorate more or less. *-•-♦ Italians and American Foul Brood Owing to the almost undisputed claim that Italians are more or less im- mune to " black " or "European foul brood," claims are constantly being made that they are to a certain extent immune to American foul brood, also. I believe any claims that Italians are exempt from the ravages of American foul brood is mere twaddle. In my ex- perience as an inspector, as well as in dealing with this disease in my own apiaries a few years ago, Italians were more often affected than other races. I judged this to be caused by the Ital- Leaky Joints and Leaky Barrels As to closing leaky joints in feeders, etc., page 7, what is the matter with using paraffine for this purpose? It is much cheaper than beeswax, and melts at a lower temperature. I have used it with entire satisfaction more than once. Is the fact generally known that for a ready " patch " for a leaky wooden barrel nothing is quite as good as rub- bing over the hole a quantity of com- mon hard soap ? In shipping barrels of honey, more than once this handy arti- cle has helped me out of a difficulty. Of course, it is better to have the bar- rels so coopered that there will be no leak, but sometimes "accidents happen in the best o£ families," and in such cases a remedy comes in handy. Profits in Beekeeping The figures on page 10, January issue, relative to the profits in beekeeping in Oklahoma are, in common with other boom literature, misleading to say the least. The honey is all valued at 15 cents per pound, and if that refers to comb honey, the price is probably not such an exaggeration. If it refers to extracted, it is misleading, for while 15 cents can be obtained in a retail way for some sections, such a figure is be- yond reason at the present when whole- sale prices are considered. But the greatest exaggeration is in figuring all the increase at $10 each, net. Are bees commonly worth $10 per colony in Oklahoma ? If such is the case there should be a bonanza in rearing bees for sale instead of honey, and needless to say the price of bees would soon come down. But assuming that they are worth that figure, what about the cost of hives, foundation, frames, etc. are they supplied free to the beekeep- ers by some person in that favored locality ? I maintain that the figures are mis- leading, and the association responsi- ble for the report. Marketing of Honey Should be Studied We are told on page 15, tliat iMr. C. D. House assured the beekeepers at the meeting held in Rochester, N. Y., on Dec. 2, that Canadian beekeepers had solved the question of setting and February, 1914. American l^ee Jonrnal maintaining the price of honey by a system of getting reports from all over the country and then making recom- mendations to the beekeepers as to what price to ask for their product. We thou!i;hl that we had at least par- tially solved the problem, but this year, with a bumper crop in many localities, and a "tight money market" in all localities, seemingly, things have gone a bit differently from what we antici- pated. When the public is not buying an article that is not fairly abundant, problems arise that are hard to solve satisfactorily. .•\s stated in the January issue, it is the opinion of many of us that a period of conservatism in the matter of honey production is a sane and wise policy to pursue for the ne.xt few years at least. Instead of preaching "Keep more bees," or " Make more beekeepers," the solu- tion of the marketing and distribution problems would be more in order. As president of the Ontario Beekeepers' .■Vssociation for the current year, that policy is the one that I shall endeavor to encourage, and I shall deem it a pleasure to hear from as many of the members aspossiblethat are interested. Honey Production as Ranked With Other Business I have read what Mr. Pellett has to say on page 'i'l, January number, with much interest. In some of his con- tentions I agree with him, while on some other things I entirely disagree. Boom honey as much as you will, yet it will never occupy a place on the table along with butter, eggs, cheese, etc. These staple articles were never higher in New York State than at present, yet honey is a drag on the market. Not properly advertised you will say. Granted that is the case, and yet what about the advertising of eggs, etc.? Reason as you will, when money is scarce with the workingman he will spend what he has for butter and eggs, and for sweets he will buy the cheaper syrups instead of honey. With modern methods of honey production, along with the instructions given at colleges, I believe the business of honey production can easily be over- done. I cannot understand why men depending upon it for a living should be so anxious to encourage competi- tion. .-^ few years ago the fruit and canning industry was overdone. Did the men behind the factories advise more to go into the business and then get busy and advertise their product ? Hardly. They advertised all right, but at the same time they curtailed produc- tion for a year so as not to glut the market. Besides fruit raising, poultry keeping, etc., are not in the same line as beekeeping, for while all our neigh- bors can raise fruit or keep chickens, the locality will not be overstocked. With bees it is different, and overstock- ing is very easily accomplished. Over- stocking is being done now in some localities by men who are getting their chief instruction from colleges, etc. The beekeepers have been largely re- sponsible for this since they urged that this subject be placed upon the cur- riculum. " If the business of honey production is to take rank along with other lines," says Mr. Pellett. Ah, there is the rub. We do so like to be as other people. The Israelites of old had the same de- sires, seemingly, and wanted a king. Their request was granted, and they got more than they asked for. This may be a crude illustration, but in my humble opinion it describes very nicely the attitude of many who are contin- ually booming beekeeping, and who do not think there is any danger of its being overdone. Look out that such a policy does not bring "leanness" in the end, to the very business they are so anxious to place on a pedestal, so that it will be like other callings. Notes From ^ Ab r oad The Home of Ny Boyhood BY C. P. I).\U.\NT. THOSE of you, dear readers, who have been born in the spot where you now reside may not find this article interesting, but I am very sure it will appeal to those who, being like me on the downward path, have long ago left the scenes of their childhood and would like to see them again. But it must interest mostly those who, like me, are now citizens of a country differing from that of their youth, in language, customs, climate, culture and habitations; where even the flag is different. Think of returning, after -50 years of absence, to the spot where you went to school, where you left some of the associates of your games! But the bright-eyed maiden of 24, who taught you some of the " Mother Goose " sto- ries is now a white-haired, wrinkled old lady of 74. The little boy who could barely walk and say " papa," is today a respectable business man and a grandfather. The city of my birth, Langres, is one of the oldest in Europe. Under the Roman rule, at the dawn of the Chris- tian era, it was already a city, Andoma- tunnum, the capital of the Lingones. It is on a high plateau, tiOO feet above the surrounding valley, and strongly for- tified. But the ramparts and battle- ments, the moats and drawbridges, the thick-walled towers have lost their use- fulness. A modern shell-gun, out of sight behind the surrounding hills, can send its deadly missils into the heart of the place. Fortresses are obsolete, and we hope war will, sooner or later, also become a thing of the past. Modern ideas have overcome the thought that man is safer on the top of a cliff than in the valley. So the old fortress has permitted a cog-wheel railroad to scale its walls. But little else has changed. The city will aston- ish you with its white walls, that have never seen coal smoke, its quiet streets, in which only an occasional carriage or the automobile of some tourists break the monotony of the habitual farmer's cart with enormous wheels, delivering produce. Four of the five convents within its walls, and both of of its seminaries, have become vacant since France has followed the example of the United States in separating church from State. Modern ideas are replacing asceticism. Nuns are re- placed by school teachers. You may follow one of the beautiful white roads, lined with pretty gardens, winding and ascending among those avenues of trees, in Fig. 1, with a grade of less than 5 percent. In a little while you will find yourself at the foot of the walls, in front of one of the seven gates. Fig. 2. Enter this gate, and looking back, you will see the gate from the inside. Fig. 3. If you ascend upon the rampart by a narrow stairway on the right, and stand by the side of those nurses, you will see in Fig. 4, up the narrow paved street, the home of Fig. I.— View of Langres. the Bikthpi.ace of C. P. Dadant. February, 1914. ^^^^■^ [M^rican ^ec Journal] F'i(;.2— Ome of the Seven Gates of Entry into the City of Lanc^res. my childhood, behind the trees of a garden on the riglit. In that old house, now inhabited by strangers, but which we were permitted to visit, I recognized every nook and corner, even to the dark closet in which they threatened to put me when I misbehaved. It was a happy visit, and the people who live there appeared to enjoy the strangeness of it as much as we did. But, I am sorry to say, I have no bees to show you here. However, Fig. 5, which represents a fountain at the foot of the walls, is just to the left of the spot where my father used to keep his bees, in that pretty shrubbery, some 55 years ago. He gave his early experi- ences in the 3d and 4th volumes of this journal, after coming to America. His labors, to introduce the American methods in Europe, were not in vain, as we can testify. We reap the result of his toil, for wherever bees are kept we are at once made welcome. Two apiaries were visited in the vicinity, but the cool rainy weather, which lasted during almost our entire stay in this place, made it inconvenient to open the hives and do any more than discuss the bees. The f^ora is immense, and during an excursion which we made to the source of the river IVIarne, wife gathered some 35 different kinds of honey-yielding plants in the mead- ows. No hot summers here; and on Sunday, July 20, when 3(i deaths from insolation were reported in Chicago, we were barely warm enough for com- fort in an auto ride with friends, although we wore winter clothes and overcoats. The weather, however, was cooler than common. But in that coun- try there are but few house flies, be- cause of the coolness of the summers. Perhaps that is why the village peas- ants have no hesitancy in keeping their manure piles in close proximity to their homes. In every village, manures are a disagreeable adjunct of farm life. Reform in that line seems to us impera- tive. There ought to be a middle method between our American waste of manures and the European cherish- ing of them. We owe an acknowledgement to the kind friends who welcomed us in Lan- gres. Mr. Beligne, a distant cousin, whose home was our home for a few days, is a manufacturer of cutlery, with an international reputation and an ac- tive trade. He is what our American slang calls "a live wire." His house manufactures some 300U different pat- terns of cutlery. Their manufacturing is all "hand work," and the labor is entirely performed in the homes of the artisans who live in the city or sur- rounding villages. It is an old firm, for they have in their possession an- nouncements on parchment of one of their ancestors dating back 280 years. We visited the old college, and there I had the pleasure of meeting one of my former school mates, who is the secretary of the Alumni Association or "Amisdu College." The fee for join- ing is $1.00. So I at once became a member, and was put in possession of the records. I found my name, with the prizes won in 1850 18H3. Two names of my most intimate college mates, whom I had not met for over 50 years, drew my attention. One of them was manager of the local " Savings Deposit," the other a general in the French army with headquarters at Nice. We will meet him later, as we pass through Nice on our return from Italy. After a stay of five days in Langres, we went to Vaux, the birth-place of my KiG. 3.— The Gate fkom ihe Inside. Fig. 4.— Behind the Trees of the (Sar- DEN. on the Right, the Boyhood Home of Mr. Dadant. father. I gave a view of this spot in the September number of the American Bee Journal. I have spoken of his work in progressive bee-culture. An idea of the results may be gained if I state that of the 40 or more local or departmental associations of beekeep- ers in France, 20 of which are repre- sented by L'Apiculteur, there is not one which does not use or recommend more or less the system which he taught. We spent 24 hours there. After pay- ing a visit to the school master, who keeps bees in the modern way, we directed our steps to the cemetery on the top of the cliff, to seek tlie graves of our ancestors. The engravings on the old, flat tombstones were covered with a thick layer of moss. Trying to decipher them was a hopeless job. We went to the home of the curate, a short distance away and asked for informa- tion. Unluckily he was unable en- lighten us, for he had lived there only 25 years. My grandfather, who was the village doctor, had been de;id some 4() years. But the curate's old-maid servant, a woman about 70 years old, at once volunteered to aid us. She came and pointed to a number of stones as those which we were seek- February, 1!M4. American T^ee Journal j ing. I took out my pocket-knife and attempted to scratch the moss out of the indentations formed by the in- scriptions, in order to decipher them She smiled at my feeble attempts, and grabbing a bunch of leaves in her wrinkled but powerful hands she vig- orously rubbed the moss off the face of the stones and uncovered very quickly the inscriptions. Five of my ancestors were there, and the grave of my grand-father bore the Latin words : " /'ransii/ bi'in-l'iuifiitlo" (He passed doing good). A motto to be proud of! It was correctly applied too, evidently, for every old woman' to wlioni we spoke in the village, had only praise for his memory. My cousin from Paris had come to meet us there, and we to- gether seeked and renewed all the old memories of our school vacation days. My next description will carry us farther south and a little more among the bees. ■^^5?b| m^ ^ yTJ". ..^Ml ? \:'S!^ 'Pi^ ^ ^^^^^Srt*' .' '?SilH-^r''^'5s i^^^s^ \^ ^id^h rr i-..;^ \yitikii-JS "^mA r J ^ -"i*" s:^::i:rr- iiS ^^^n^^ Kk;. = -Fountain at the the foot of the wall near whicli Charles Dadant kept hi bees 55 years ago. Convention Proceedings The National Convention The annual convention of the Na- tional Beekeepers' Association will convene at the Planters Hotel in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 17, 18 and 19, 19U. The first session will be held Feb. 17 at 10 o'clock a.m. A large hall and office rooms have been provided at the hotel. The following rates on the European plan have been granted to the beekeep- ers and their friends : For one person, rooms without bath, $1.50 to $2.00 per day. Rooms with bath, $2.50 to $5.00 per day. For two persons, rooms without bath, $2..50 to $3.00 per day. Rooms with bath, $3.50 to $7.00 per day. For each person over two in a room, $1.00 addi- tional. The Planters Hotel fs one of the finest in the city, and guests will be nicely taken care of. It is hoped that this convention may prove one of our old-style gatherings, where we meet many of our old friends and make many new ones. All meet- ings will be open to all the beekeepers who come, whether members of the association or not. Let the beekeepers rally and make this a rousing gather- ing like we had in 1004, during the St. Louis Exposition. Bring your wife and daughters. St. Louis will try to make it pleasant for all. There will be rooms in the hall for exhibits, if any manufacturers or beekeepers wish to show, or adjoining rooms can be had, if desired. Robt. A. Holekamp, /Vf.s. .SV. /.()«/.( Becti-el'crs lliih. Prelimin.^ry Program. A number of vital and important problems confront the association for action. Every affiliated society should, if possible, be represented by a dele- gate; otherwise send communications and instructions to the secretary. The program following is prelimi- nary and is subject to change. An ef- fort has been made, however, to secure the very best talent available in this country and abroad : TUESDAV. FEERIARV. 17. i):3o AM. -ODeninu session. Seating of offi- cial delegates Apiiointment of committees as well as routine business will be prose- cuted in due form. "Suggestions for the Betterment of the ' National ' "—Editor E. D. Townsend. North- star, Mich. I :oo p M.— Session for discussions. Since the program is constantly growing, final ar- rangements are not yet possible. The pa- pers offered are therefore grouped and list- ed below. -•,00 P.M.— Business session. 8:oo P.M.— Lectures with the lantern. Wednesday. Kehriarv. i8. Qoo A.M.— Business session. with!papers as time will permit. 1.30 P.M. —Short business session. 2:00 P.M. — Discussions and papers. 7:00 P.M. — Business session. 8:00 P.M. —Lectures. Thursday, February ig. 9:00A.M. — Business session, followed by as many iiapers as may prove possible. 2:00 P. .M —Closing session. Final adjourn- ment is subject to the business program, I'ROGRA.M 01- Papers and CONTRtBUTIONS SuiiiECT TO Arrangement— Aptcui.- TURAi. Education and Promotion. " rhe Question of Apicnitural Education " —Prof. Morley Peltit. Guelph. Ont. " Developing the Industry ■'- .Mr. Fraiik C. Pellett. Atlantic. Iowa. "Modern Business Methods Applied to Beekeeping ' — Mr. K. B. Cavanagh. Hebron. I"d ., ., "Organization of the Beekeepers —Mr. Jenncr E. Morse, Saginaw. Mich. The Queen Business. , "Direct Introduction of Queens "—Mr. J. M. Buchanan. Franklin. Tenn. "Seleciive Breeduig " — Mr. Geo. B. Howe. Black River, N. Y. Beekeeping by Localities. "New lersey Beekeeping"— Prof. T. J. Headlee, .New Brunswicli. N. ,T. " Honey Resources of New Jersey "-Mr. E. G. Carr, New Egypt, N. J. : "California Beekeeping— Up and Down 10 Ijate"— Mr. J. D. Bi.\by. Covina, Calif. "Beekeeping in Southern California '— Mr Homer Mathewson. Binghamton, N. \. "History of Beekeeping in California "- Mr. I. E. Pleasants. Orange. Calif, ■ IJevelopment of Apiculture in Oregon -Prof. H. b. Wilson. Coivallis, Oreg. "Beekeeping in Europe"— Mr. C. P. Da- dant. Hamilton. HI. , „, . • Making a Market for 500 Cars of Western Honey"— Mr. Weslev Foster. Boulder. Colo. Wintering. " Building the Perfect Bee Cellar"— Mr. E. S. Miller. Valparaiso, Ind. ,, "Humidity in the Wintering of Bees —Dr. E. F. Phillips, Washington, D. C. Special and General Subjects. " Restoring the Soil Fertility and Produc- ing Honey "—Dr. H. A. Surface. Harrisburg, Pa "The Secretion of Nectar"— Dr. F. W. L. Sladen, Ottawa,. Canada. Subject to be announced— Mr. J. J. Ander- son. Salem. Idaho, , ,, , , ^ . " Moving Bees from the North to the South for Increase ' — Mr. E. R. Root. Medina. Ohio. " Beekeeping as a Money Making Proposi- tion "— I. J. Wilder. Cordele, Ga. Subject to be announced— Prof. Wilmon Newell. College Station, Tex. "Automatic Recording Instrument "—Prof. C. E. Sasborn. Stillwater, Okia, The sessions are open to the public. Business sessions, however, are partici- pated in by delegates. Burton N. Gates, Chairman. Amherst, Mass., Jan. 15. Iowa State Beekeepers' Convention The Iowa State Beekeepers' Associa- tion met at the Saverv Hotel in Des Moines on Dec. 10, 11 and 12. The parlor which was placed at the dis- posal of the association, proved hardly sufficient. So large was the attendance at some of the sessions that even the door was obstructed, and the officers contemplated securing larger quarters. We can give but an abridged report of the meeting, which could fill an entire number of the .\merican Bee Journal. The address of the President, Frank C. Pellett, called attention to the fact that Iowa is one of the best honey- producing States, outranking Colorado, and that it may some day rank first. February, 1914. i, D. Siver 5. C. F. Foot 38. Prof. R. X. Pettit 3y, Leonard S, Griggs 40. David Runnin; 41 Mr Ewell 42. G. Frank Pease 43, E. E. Townsend February, lfll4. American l^ee Journal He called attention to the securing of an inspection law and better premiums at the fair, the past year. He advocated a better system of crop distribution, and avoiding the use of anything but new containers for honey. He urged co-operation in honey sales, increased education in beekeeping, and the pub- ishing of crop reports. Our venerable friend and active worker, Eugene Secor, of Forest City, delivered a very interesting address on " How We May Increase the Consump- tion of Honey." He called attention to the fact that only about a pound of honey per capita is consumed in the United States, while there is a con- sumption of 172 pounds of meat and some 70 pounds of sugar. His conclu- sion was that honey should be more largely advertised and more largely produced. Mr. J. W. Jarnagin spoke of bee-cul- ture as one of the side-lines on the farm, and mentioned the usefulness of the bee in fertilizing plants. He quoted Mr. Gill, one of the largest producers in the VVest, in testimony of the fact that the farmers of the irrigated re- gions are glad to secure apiaries on their land to fertilize the blossoms of both their fruit and their field crops. The discussions following this address brought out the fact that some Iowa orchardists have offered inducements to beekeepers to place apiaries within their orchards. An essay of J. L. Strong, on selling honey directly to the consumer was very interesting. Mr. Strong is one of the oldest beekeepers in America, hav- ing been a practical apiarist ever since the honey extractor was invented. He told of his early experiences and of the difficulty of selling fine extracted honey when the consumers were used only to the strained honey of bee-hunters and box-hive beekeepers. Pure clover honey was then very much mistrusted. The discussion which followed brought about a mention of the harm done to the beekeeping interests by the endless repetition of the fake story of manu- factured comb honey, which is still be- lieved by tens of thousands in spite of its utter impossibility. A number of officials from the State College at Ames were present, and urged that a meeting of the association be held in that city. Mr. Bartholomew stated that the college was to institute a short course in bee-culture, with about 30 lectures and some practical work. A committee was appointed to take steps to secure some permanent establishment of this kind and an ex- perimental apiary at the college. It was finally decided by vote to hold the next annual meeting at Ames, and sec- tional meetings and beekeepers' picnics in different places during the summer. The election of oflicers which took place on the second day resulted in the re-election of the same men : Presi- dent, Frank C. Pellett ; Secretary, S. VV. Snyder; Treasurer, C. H. True. Surely, no better men could be secured. To the efforts and good management of these oflicers is certainly due a por- tion of the success which attended the meeting. The president was selected to repre- sent the association at the meeting of the National in February. A very important paper was read, on sweet clover, by Mr. Coverdale, and the discussion that followed brought out a number of useful points. It ap- pears that the farmers of the country have entirely changed in their attitude towards this honey-plant, and instead of considering it as a noxious weed, are now growing it as a forage-plant, and also to reclaim abandoned and worthless land, upon which Mr. Cover- dale assured that it grows to a height of 5 feet. This apiarist grows the sweet clover for hay. He cuts it in October of the first year and secures quite a crop from this first harvest. In the second year he cuts it as soon as it reaches a height of 23 to 24 inches, tak- ing care not to mow it too low, leaving a joint or two of the stem above the ground. If cut too low or too late it is often killed. In about a month from the first cutting it is again ready to cut, unless wanted for seed. When sowing it for the first time, the ground in which it is to be grown may be inocu- lated with the bacteria by simply soak- ing the seed in a liquid made of com- mon glue diluted with finely powdered dirt shaken from the roots of old sweet- clover plants. The seed is spread upon a floor, and the mixture poured upon it, and it is shoveled over until every seed has a light coat of this mixture. It takes only a few gallons of the mixture to inoculate a large quantity of seed. About 20 pounds of seed is used to the acre. When the clover is cut for its seed, they use an ordinary binder ma- chine. There is a great demand every- where for the sweet clover at present. A member having stated that his stock would not eat sweet clover, and having asked how he could induce them to eat it, a dozen or more pro- tested that cattle, as well as horses, could be induced to eat it very readily, by simply feeding nothing else to them and that they soon learn to prefer it to other fodder. But care should be taken to harvest it at the proper time. Interesting papers were given by Mr. True, Hamlin B. Miller, Dr. Bonney, W. P. Southworth, B. A. Aldrich, J. W. Bittenbender, E. G. Brown J. W. Stine, Prof. Kennedy, of Ames, and others. Mr. Huber Root, who came in lieu of his brother E. R., detained at home by sickness, gave a history of the methods for extracting honey and a display of the most modern implements. He es- timated that the honev crop of the United States was around 200,000,000 pounds, about 150,000,000 of which is extracted honey. He deprecated the use of the capping-melter for out- yards, as it gives considerable trouble to get it ready, and often damages the honey in heating. He recommended the use of power to run the honey ex- tractor. Mr. E. G. Brown, in his talk on the cure of foul brood, gave a variation of the McEvoy method, devised by the well-known apiarist, Thomas Chantry, who now resides in Utah. It consists in hiving the bees upon strips of foun- dation and one dry comb. It is held that the bees at once desposit the honey which they hold in their sacs into that dry comb. This being re- moved promptly, there is no necessity of again transferring the bees. As this is a short method, it is worthy of trial, especially where the disease is of mild nature. It is impossible to give in this short report more than a glimpse of some of the valuable things we heard. We leave out many good points. The beekeep- ers of Iowa have much to gain from these meetings, and we bespeak for the Ames convention a very great success. We will give due notice of it in these columns a month or so ahead of time. — The Euitor. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga, A Little Discouraged MR. WILDKR:— 1 spf that you have secured a big crop of honey. My honey crop for the last tu'o sea- sons has been a complete failure. Surrounding beekeepers have also tailed. 1 tried to produce honey in sections last season and failed and I tried to produce chunk honey in shal- low frames and failed. I used full sheets of foundation and the supers at the close of the season were about as clear of honey as when 1 put them on. We had very little swanuine; but onr bees were very strona; ;ind we only have GO or 70 colonies in this lo- cation. Our honey plants are fruit and poplar trees and lilaokberry in the si)ring and cotton during summer. This may be a poor location but it is as good as there is within fifty miles. If this si'ction is not good for bees I don't want to continue, and if I'm not right 1 want to get right. If you fan suggest anything that would help me I will appreciate it. Starr, S. C. S. A. H.\ll. ANSWKR:— 1 am almost at a loss to suggest anything in your case. If bees have done well in your section up to two years ago you have evident- ly been up against a failure of nectar owing to weather conditions. Such is very often the case. You have some good honey plants and your location has hardly I'un out so far as a bee pasture is concerned. As early as l)0ssible in the spring 1 would put In some of both Caucasian and Italian queens and note results. 'I'liis is not bad policy in good locations, and it is even better in poor ones. There are many locations in the sontli where bees will not enter supers very much February. UM4. American Tiee Jonrna^i if tlii'V are kejil in ten-lr.iiiie liives. This may be your case. 1 have bees in alnio.st all kind of locations and in lifty-one yards and I don't know that I have even one location where 1 could use a ten-frame hive. Many small beekeepers scattered near my yards use ten-frame hives and make but little honey, some of them n-jt cnnuKh for table use except when they take it from the brood nest. lion faciliti<'s both by rail and boat to northern markets. After looking ov- er the section well you can best de- cide on a location for youself. Congratulations Wants a Location DEAR .MK. \V1LL)ER:~1 want to keep in touch with beekeeping for 1 am strongly thinking of laying asidi' all other business and going into beekeeping. Do you know of a good unrccupied locality? Monetta, S. C. J. O. H.-\ll.vi.\n. ANSWER:— It you will refer back a few numbers of the American Bee .lournal you will find that 1 give this information. It should be just what you w'ant; namely, beekeeping in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Ceorgia and .North Carolina for those who desire high attitude and in south- cast Georgia for those who desire a lower level. Should you come to the latter you will have good transporta- .Many congratulations have come in on the crop of honey I made the last season. It was a lot of honey all told but when we take into consideration the number of apiaries and colonies it was not a large average per colony a little less than 60 pounds. But that is good for our location. Be Ready, Is My New Year's Wish The busy season is just ahead. We are fast approaching it. Are you ready, anxiously waiting to see how well you can care for it, whether it be small or large? If not, line up at once and by all means be ready. Don't neglect the business, it is not sound logic or economy to do so. Buy two supers where you only bought one for each colony last year. Use full sheets of foundation where you only used starters. Be sure you have plenty of new hives for increase. My new year wish is "Be ready and anxious." Contributed Articles^ The Interstate and Washington State Fairs By .GEORCE \V. YORK. IT was my privilege to judge the ex- hibits in the bee and honey de- partment of the Spokane Inter- state Fair, held in Spokane, Wash., beginning Sept. 1-5, 1!U3, and also the Washington State Fair, held at North Yakima, Wash., beginning Sept. 30, 1913 A good view of the apiarian exhibit at the first-named fair is shown herewith. Unfortunately no views were taken of the fair at North Yakima, owing to a failure to secure good views the preceding year, so no attempt was made this year, although 1 had ex- pected that pictures would be taken and forwarded to me. I will here speak of the Interstate Fair, as that was held first, the superin- tendent of the apiary department be- ing Mr. L. C. Barrett, who is a good man for the place. THE INTERSTATE FAIR. Had it not been for the efforts of Mr. J. P. Kingsland, of Spokane, one of the liveliest bee-men in all the north- west, there probably would have been but a very small e.xhibit, if any, in the beekeeping line at the Interstate Fair. As it was, it was not up to the display made at the fair of 1012, but all the ex- hibits this year were very good, so they made up in quality what perhaps they lacked in quantity. Prizes were distributed among the following winners: J. P. Kingsland, Mrs. M. E. Baker, John F. Sprague, Mrs. F. P. Dodge, and Miss Fannie Brake. The total cash offered in prizes was a little less than $200. It is hoped that another year an effort will be made to get together a larger exhibit and more exhibitors in the bee and honey department of the Interstate Fair, for this is really one of the great fairs of the United States, as it includes Washington, Oregon and Idaho. THE WASHINGTON i;TATE FAIR. The exhibits in the bee and honey building of this fair covered a wall and counter space of perhaps 100 feet in length. They were located in what had been used before for both apiary and dairy products, but the dairy end of the narrow and somewhat L-shaped building was practically empty. The beekeepers in the locality of North Yakima (which is also one of the most famous apple regions in the world) are wide awake, and know how to get up a good display. Mr. C. A. Beardsley was the superintendent of the apiary department, and putin about two months of hard work preceding the fair dates. To him belongs a large portion of the credit for the fine suc- cess of the apiarian displays. Among the exhibitors were several beekeepers who are well known to the fraternity as very successful producers of honey. I might name J. B. Ramage, the hustling secretary of the Washing- ton -State Beekeepers' .-Kssociation ; Robert Cissna and Virgil Sires, also members of the organization. Messrs. Cissna and Sires have between them about 1000 colonies of bees. I must not fail to mention the good women who added much to the interest and value of the apiarian display at this fair. I don't think I ever saw so great a variety of eatables made with honey as a component part. It was almost necessary to have an assistant to the judge to help taste all the good things in pastry and honey candies that the women had made, and all of which were entered for prizee. The total cash premiums at this fair were around $300. I want to emphasize particularly the great variety of most tempting honey Apiarian exhhibits at the Spokane Wash.) Interstate Kair. 5S February, 1914. cakes, honey candies, honey-canned fruit, etc., that the women had entered at the Washington State Fair. They surely attracted much attention, and will help to show other women just what can be done with honey in the kitchen. Why, I can almost taste yet the many delicious things that were made witli honey, and which it was my duty (as well as pleasure) to sample at this particular fair. It is one of the best ways possible to increase the use of honey in baking and preserving. I wish also to mention the several most excellent displays of mounted nectar-yielding plants. As I recall it, one e.xhibitor had over 100 different specimens. They were very attractive. The more I attend fairs and come in close contact with the apiarian exhibits, the more I am convinced that many beekeepers are neglecting a splendid opportunity to advertise the products of the apiary when they fail to take advantage of the chance to show large numbers of people the value of honey through exhibits at fairs. Also, every exhibitor of honey, bees, etc., should have a small leaflet to hand out to visi- tors, showing various ways in which honey can be used, and also bearing the name and address of the exhibitor, so that the recipient may order in case honey or further information is de- sired. From the various fairs that I have attended in widely scattered parts of our great country during the past 20 years, and also from the excellent api- arian displays I have seen at these fairs — from Toronto on the north to San Antonio on the south, and from Buffalo on the east to North Yakima on the west — I am led to conclude that almost everywhere is a good location for beekeeping. All it needs is the right kind of beekeepers to go in and possess the land with its nectar already there awaiting the bees to gather it. Sandpoint, Idaho. Let Us Not Exaggerate BY J. CREPIEUX-JAMIN. WK read from time to time, in the bee-papers, that a friend of the lioney-bee has died at a very advanced age, and that the se- cret of his longevity was to take a spoonful of honey every morn- ing. It is so simple that one is aston- ished to hear of any beekeepers dying at middle age; evidently they must be vicious people. This idea of theextraordinary power of honey is so deeply anchored in the mind of many beekeepers that I do not approach this subject without appre- hension. I have gathered together cir- culars and articles extolling the virtue of honey. The collection is under my eyes; I see in looking it over that it will be difficult to convince some peo- ple, and I would not like to displease them. Truly, honey is an aliment so rich and so delicious that by its un- questionable qualities it deserves to be placed in the front rank of edible products; but it is needless to claim for it universal qualities against disease or even death. "The daily use of honey is a brevet American HQe Journal of long life." "Eat honey daily and you will never be sick." " Honey pro- tects the health and cures disease." " Honey as food, and not as medicine, eases digestion, strengthens the bron- chial tubes and preserves persons from gastritis, enteritis, colds, bron- chitis," etc. ! We find almost everywhere in api- arian literature the assertion that honey is a sovereign remedy in throat trou- bles. If they said that it is "useful" they would be nearer the truth. When we speak of throat troubles, colds, bronchitis, etc., we give too general enumerations. One speaks thus of the diseases of the respiratory organs when one does not know them. It is thus that they were mentioned some (10 years ago, before the discovery of microbiology. But now we make a distinction between the ditTerent ba- cilli, and we also distinguish specific bronchial troubles produced by the special germs of diseases of which they are a symptom, bronchitis caused by grippe, measles, whooping-cough, tu- berculosis, etc., as well as the non- specific bronchial troubles caused by the common microbes of inflammation. And as to the throat itself, it is the seat of numerous diseases, which dif- fer greatly in their form and their ori- gin. The pharynx may be suffering in one or another of its parts, tonsils, palate, whence are produced the divers quinsies and amygdalitis. In view of the complexity of causes and effects, the use of honey as a pre- servative or a remedy appears insig- nificant ; very unwary is he who counts upon its decisive action. Honey is a first-class food, but a medicine of low value; it is sometimes softening and laxative, but that is small value to- wards a cure and far from a cure-all. I do not see the need of diminishing the legitimate interest in honey by at- tributing to it qualities which it does not possess. The result is to cause a shrug of the shoulders by every man who is informed on medical subjects. This little weakness of exaggeration is not confined to the beekeeping world. We read not long ago of an American lady who draws the attention of the world because she possesses a number of millions, and who is said to preserve her health in old age by eat- ing onions every day. In Provence and Algeria they prefer garlic for many reasons; garlic is stimulating, diuretic, and a vermifuge. An athlete preserved his strength by eating nuts. Others praise sugar. Truly, honey is better, and for good reasons. But here comes a centenarian who gives his secret: Drink a glass of water every morning when getting up. It was dis- gusting to be informed by the cente- narian of Darnetal, that a glass of brandy, from time to timt, in the morning, is not injurious. Happily for common sense and good e.xamples, the majority of centenarians, when inter- rogated, declare that sobriety and ab- stinence from alcohol have been most useful to them in maintaining their health. There are also centenarians who owe their long life to the observance of 10 to 15 precepts. Upon examina- tion, we acknowledge their correct- ness; they praise hygiene, peaceable- ness, regularity, wisdom in every form. They are well, not because of a single alimentary habit, but because of several good habits, moral as well as physical. — Tratislalci/ from 1.' ApkuUurc XouTelie. Economical Bee-Hive Construc- tion and Manipulation BY J. E. IIAXD. DURING the past few years 1 have devoted my best energies to simplify methods, and minimize labor by the development of principles, and methods for the prevention of swarming by rendering conditions unfavorable to the develop- ment of the swarming impulse. Ma- nipulation is but another name for labor, and while we may by e.xcessive manipulation discourage swarming, the chances are even that we have also discouraged honey production by plac- ing the colony so far from a normal condition as to render it practically unproductive during an ordinary clover harvest. Viewing it thus, it is neither desirable nor profitable to prevent swarming unless it can be accom- plished spontaneously. My labor has not been wholly in vain, especially since my investigations have led me into broader fields of observation and research along the line of economical bee-hive construction and manipula- tion ; and I believe, to the discovery of principles for the spontaneous preven- tion of swarming, as well as for mini- mizing expense for equipment. L.SRGE BROOD-CH.^MBERS. In touching upon this important sub- ject I do not wish to convey the idea that some particular form of hive will give vastly superior results in honey production, but rather to show where- in a properly proportioned general pur- pose hive is best suited to the needs of the masses, when viewed from the standpoint of economy and utility, the two essential points of bee-hive con- struction and manipulation. Since the Langstroth frame has stood the test of time until it has become the standard for America, there is little room for improvement here, and the only ques- tion that remains is how many frames shall we use in a hive ? The correct answer to this question will determine the proper size of hives, concerning which there is still a wide diversity of opinion. The tendency is toward large brood-chambers; the 8 frame size has few advocates, and the lO-frame size is being discarded for something larger. This movement is not a mushroom growth, but it is the result of a gradual development actuated by stern neces- sity, and based on sound principles of economy and general utility. Since it is generally conceded that horizontal contraction and expansion of the brood-chamber is the correct principle, it should be of sufficient capacity to develop the fertility of the most prolific queens ; for no one who would consult his financial interests can alTord to curtail brood-rearing in a cramped brood-chamber. Viewing it thus, it is evident that the 10-frame hive is out of proportion, as well as entirely too small for best results as a February, 1914. jtoorican IBce Jonrnall general purpose hive. It is inlinitely more desirable to have room in the brood-chamber for a few combs of honey, than to curtail brood-rearing, or to have the queen encroach upon the domains of the surplus receptacles with its disagreeable results of floating larv;e and spoiled extracting combs. If queen-excluders are used, the work- ing force is diminished just in propor- tion to the amount of brood that would have been reared in a hive of sufficient capacity, and swarming will be the ultimate result. Again, if a story and a half arc occu- pied for brood, at least two more are needed for surplus, making the hive four stories high, a regular sky scraper, entirely out of proportion, as well as devoid of all principles of domestic economy, since the field laborers are compelled to travel nearly 4 feet upon the vertical sides of hives before they can deposit their heavy burden ; a condition of fruitless labor and wasted energy to the bees. It is evident that a hive of 17-frame capacity is not too large for best re- sults when viewed from the standpoint of economy and utility. We have adopted this form of hive in preference to any other for reasons already given, as well as for the additional reason that it is the embodiment of methods for the application of principles of far greater value to beekeepers than any we have mentioned; not the least of which is its economical solution of the wintering problem, including the mini- mizing of expense for wintering equip- ment. The winter of 1911-12 proved quite conclusively that the problem is still with us, and fortunate indeed is the beekeeper whose hives are so con- structed as to afford ample and perfect winter protection without a cent to pay for extra equipment. It simply means life and prosperity to the bees, and dollars in the pockets of beekeep- ers, that would otherwise go for ex- pensive and cumbersome chaflf hives and winter cases. This hive is so proportioned that when the frames are removed it will take in an 8-frame hive-body cross- ways, and leave 2 inches of space be- tween the walls of the two hives for winter packing; and when the top story is on we have 10 inches of space for packing on top without the expense of a deep cover or chaff tray, thus affording better winter protection than the most elaborate and expensive chafif hive, and without extra equipment save the inner case which can be made from a packing box for 10 cents; this is 12 inches deep in order to draw the clus- ter upward in the center of the packing chamber and away from the drafty en- trance, and leave a space of 3 inches under the frames — ^a very desirable feature not found in any other winter- ing hive. An 8-frame space is large enough for winter, especially since the more crowded they are the warmer they will be, but the combs should be pretty well filled with stores at the beginning of winter. Since the hive is converted from a single-wall hive for summer use to a double-wall wintering hive, affording ample winter protection with- out extra equipment, it is appropriate to bestow upon it the cognomen of "the convertible hive." When we consider that it costs less to construct a hive of this pattern than ordinary hives of equal capacity, with- out wintering privileges, little more is needed to complete the principle of "economical construction and manipu- lation of hives." It is 20x2() inches outside, and will accommodate 16 frames and a sliding follower, and when the top story is on it approaches closely to the cubical form, and pre- sents a very substantial and symmet- rical appearance. It is used with sta- tionary bottom and shallow telescope cover over a thin super cover in two pieces. Since it is used with an upper story, it should not be confounded with the so-called " long idea" hive, which is a single story hive; the principle is original with myself, as the result of a gradual development covering a period of several years, and it is not an un- proven theory. While this is virtually an extracted- honey hive, all that is required to make it a section-honey hive is a set of old- style double-tier section frames having woven wire separators on both sides, and alternating with clean white ex- tracting combs, thus producing both kinds of honey with no swarming, and no expensive paraphernalia, such as supers, fences, etc., to consume the beekeeper's time and cash, and every hive is ready to produce either comb or extracted honey, or both, without extra equipment except frames. Those who have practiced this method will attest to its economy and utility. If the foundation is revamped by painting the surface with warm (not hot) melted wax, before cutting it up, the bees will accept it more readily, which is an im- portant factor in the spontaneous pre- vention of swarming. The extra expense for chaff hives and winter cases will go far toward stocking an apiary with convertible hives and eliminate the winter case which consumes the beekeeper's time and cash, and lies idle six months of the year. This principle is wholly sub- servient to the interests of beekeepers by minimizing expense for equipment. Frequent changes and modifications are imperative in order to keep in touch with an era of progress and im- provement. An expensive dovetailed corner adds nothing to the value of a hive and much to its cost. Two square joints properly nailed together will hold as long as the timber lasts, and keep the inside drier than will a locked corner. An active mill man will cut out a lot of hives in a short time at 50 cents per hour, and get frames of the supply dealer. I claim for this hive : 1st, a brood-chamberof a capacity to develop the fertility of queens sufficiently to check the swarming impulse, and bring the colony on the stage of action with the strongest force of bees possible; 2d, spontaneous prevention of swarm- ing ; 3d, a single wall hive in summer, and a double-wall hive in winter, af- fording ample winter protection with- out extra equipment; 4th, horizontal expansion and contraction by means of a sliding follower; 5th, a cubical form closely surrounding the brood with extracting combs, economizing time'and^energy of bees ; Ijtli, it neces- sitates handling the wintering combs thereby eliminating the loose practice of guessing at internal conditions ; 7th, its advent will mark the beginning of a new era in bee-hive methods, and sound the death knell of expensive paraphernalia for wintering bees and producing section honey. Birmingham, Ohio. [Mr. Hand favors a brood-chamber of 17 frames. We are glad to see it, even though we think such a hive too large. It is only a short time since Mr. Hand deprecated the use of large hives and wrote, American Bee Jour- nal for 1909, page 240: "The 8-frame Langstroth hive must ever rema'n what it is — a general utility hive — the hive that is best suited for the masses." Years and years ago, from 1868 to 1880, Mr. Chas. Dadant experimented upon hives of different sizes, both in number and size of frames; not in reduced number of colonies, but in large apiaries, so that there could be no mistake in the results. For years afterwards he fought alone in the bee- journals in favor of hives "of sufficient capacity to develop the fertility of the most prolific queens," to use the words of Mr. Hand. In 1908, page 141 of the American Bee Journal, Mr. Getaz quoted Chas. Dadant as saying, 15 years before : "We are now alone in advocating a brood-chamber larger than 10 Langstroth frames, but we are in the right, and the time will come when our position will be vindicated.'- What we saw in Europe during the past summer and Mr. Hand's article prove it has been vindicated. — Editor.] ^^♦^ Cumarin and the Bitter Prin- ciple of Sweet Clover BY A. F. BONNEY. THE most common contention of the average ruralist whose front yard may be rank with "plants out of place," is that sweet clover with or without a hyphen "is a weed." The next, when driven into an argumentative corner, " Well, cattle will not eat it, anyway." There is a state of transition, gen- erally very brief, between hate and love on the part of the average farmer. All that seems to be required is lead- ership. That we, in this vicinity, are in the chrysalis stage is evident, for sweet clover is now being discussed as a hay and forage plant, and the writer has not for weeks been threatened with arrest for sowing sWfeet clover seed. Just before leaving for the East in the spring of 1912, Mr. W. L. Morton, of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, and I found two stalks of sweet clover which had neither the smell of cumarin nor the bitter taste characteristic of the plant. At that time Mr. J. M. Westlake, Agronomist in Charge of Clover Investigations at 60 American Hee Joarnall Washington, D. C, was searching en thusiastically for such a strain, and I at once communicated with him. How- ever, the plants died from transplant- ing, and that was the last of the matter until now. At our State meeting in Des Moines, in December, 1913, I met Mr. Frank Coverdale, of Delmar, Iowa, who is day in and out preaching the gospel of sweet clover, and chancing to mention the matter of the loss of tlie bitterless plant, I was surprised to lind that it is believed that this " bitter principle" in sweet clover is what prevents " bloat " or acute fermentative indigestion in cattle, as they can gorge themselves with the sweet clover with impunity, while over-indulgence in the white, " Dutch " will cause disaster. He also stated that this " bitter principle " and cumarin, or the odoriferous principle of sweet clover, were identical. I was not ready to assent to this, as our com- mercial source of cumarin is the tonka bean, in which it exists in liberal quan- tities. The tonka bean is used as a substi- tute or adulterant for vanilla, as it is stronger and much cheaper. It is used in our kitchen in preference to the pure vanilla. Mind, the tonka bean is used, and not the cumarin extracted from it, which justifies me in saying that cumarin is not bitter, as that is the flavoring element. Moreover, a couple of years ago I extracted an ap- preciable amount of cumarin from sweet clover, and do not remember that it was bitter. Mr. Westgate, writing regarding the bitter principle, says under date of Dec. 18, 1913: " For some reason sweet clover does not bloat cattle. It has been suggested that it is due to the 'bitter principle.' I am not sure that this ' bitter principle ' is the cumarin we have thought it to be, but we hope by another year to have some definite tests made to determine this matter. In a talk I had some time ago with one of the physiological chemists, I was given to understand that it was a/most impos- sible to hai'e the cumarifi reftiaifi as such in the dill'erent stages of siveel-cloi'er curinff." (The italics are mine.) I think I have good grounds for doubting that the " bitter principle " and cumarin are identical, and I make bold to assert that the proposition that the "bitter principle" is the cause of immunity from bloat is only an intelli- gent guess. Cattle do not bloat from eating cured white clover, but the green. Why is it that the cumarin in the sweet clover is not the prophylac- tic element? Or perhaps that and the "bitter principle" combined. Why either ? So far as I know the " bitter principle" has never yet been isolated, consequently no physiological tests can be made with it, and none have been made with cumarin. Again, it may be that not one-tenth of one per- cent as many cattle eat sweet clover as white, and yet it may be possible that the sweet clover is not so absolutely harmless as we assume while we wish to prove it so; for the sooner sweet clover takes the place of white the bet- ter it will be for bee men, and possibly farmers who should be beekeepers. " Cumarin is a vegetable proximate principle (Cg H^ O2 ) obtained from the tonka bean, and also occurring in melilot and other plants. It has been used in medicine, and gives flavor to the Swiss cheese, called sehabziege>-." It is also spelled coumarin and cou- niarine. i.iatris spieata, commonly called gay-feather, devil's-bit, colic- root and button-snake root, contains cumarin, has been used in medicine, and is still used in the South to flavor tobacco. Sweet clover would be better. The United States Dispensatory is au- thority for the statement that "Melilot is practically inert ;" as a medical agent it means. " It contains coumarin, Cg Hi, O2. the chief constituent of tonka beans, combined with melilotic acid and coumaric acid, of which the coumarin is the anhydride." The Dispensatory uses no hyphen in spelling the name sweet clover. In the spring I purpose to find what this "bitter principle" is. Buck Grove, Iowa. [We have often wondered whether there were not difTerent degrees of bit- terness in sweet clover, depending upon the soil in which it grows. We have never had any difficulty in getting either cattle or horses to eat it, even when the stalks are very large. — Editor. ] Flour in Place of Pollen in the Hive BY J.\MES W. WILSEY. WHEN I examined my bees last March, there were signs that there had been considerable brood-rearing during the win- ter, but there was no unsealed brood and very little pollen left in the hives. It was plain that the bees were in need of pollen, and I wondered if a substitute for it placed in the hive would be of any use. In order to try this, I laid an empty comb flat upon the table, and on this comb I placed a scoopful of ordinary wheat flour and worked it back and forth with a post card until all the cells were filled. I then rubbed my fingers over the surface of the comb to pack the flour down so that it would not fall out when the comb was placed in an upright position. This comb of flour I placed in one of my hives at the side, as far away from the bees as I could get it, in or- der to examine it without disturbing the bees, as the weather was cold. On examining the hive the next morning it was apparent that the bees had been using the flour. Brood-rearing on a large scale immediately started in this colony. I then placed similar frames of flour in the other hives with the same general result, and two weeks later, with the exception ol one hive, there were from three to six frames of capped brood in these colonies. The hive which failed to respond to this treatment had more honey than any other, and it also failed to start up brood-rearing when natural pollen was coming in freely; brood-rearing did not commence in this colony until honey was coming in from cherry and hard maple trees. The frames of flour also had a tendency to keep the bees in the hives on cold and blustering days, for on one such day, when none of my bees were working, I visited a neighbor and found the bees of one of his colonies working strongly, bring- ing in pollen, and on opening my hives 1 found many bees at work on the frames of flour. Even on fine sunshiny days in April, when pollen was plenti- fully supplied by the flowers, many of of my bees preferred to stay at home and work on the frames of flour. But when real warm weather came in May the frames of flour were a bandoned. We have all observed that when much brood-rearing is going on, the floors of the hives become covered with yellowish or brownish particles, many of which the bees remove to the alighting-board. After the bees com- menced using the flour for brood-rear- ing, the floors of the hives became covered with little white particles, and those which the bees removed to the alighting-board were also white. New Platz, N. Y. (The use of flour as a substitute for pollen dates back several hundred years, but it is rediscovered every year by some one. We give place to the above because Mr. Wilsey uses it inside of the hive instead of feeding it outside. Our method is to place it in low flat boxes, in a sheltered spot, pressing it with the hands into little mounds, so that the bees will not smother in it. We tried placing it in the combs, but the difficulty lies in knowing how much or how little to give. Colonies take it in varied amounts, and usually stop using it as soon as blossoms appear. Although the placing of it in tlie hive saves them some trips, the most damaging losses of bees in cool weather are mainly due to the hunt after water. We have in our possession a number of manuscript notes from Father Lang- stroth, and we find the following writ- ten in 1859, touching upon this subject : h^A^ L-T L. I^. Langstrotii Notations on Using Ki.our as Hollen. February. i;U4. American Hee Journal This was evidently hurriedly written. The first subscriber giving us the cor- rect reading of these lines will be given a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal. A little history of the early use of this artificial pollen may be of inter- est. Hartlieb, a German, as early as 1655, noticed that bees would take flour, meal, or even fine sawdust as a substi- tute for pollen in early spring. Delia Rocca, in 1790, advised giving flour, mixed with honey, in early spring, to hasten the breeding. Dzierzon saw his bees carry flour from a neighbor- ing mill. The hint was not lost upon him, although he did not at that time know of others having followed the same idea before. Quinby, in ISliii, ad- vised the supplying of rye flour, ground fine and unbolted, in boxes outside of the hive. Like Mr. Langstroth, he noticed that the bees neglected it as soon as the blossoms appeared. How- ever, they often become so accustomed to bringing it that some of the workers continue their visits to the flour even a{ter most of the bees have begun to bring pollen. There is no doutt what- ever that they bring honey from the hive to knead it. Pellets similar to those which Mr. Wilsey noticed on the bottom-boards will be found in the boxes where the flour is given. They are evidently dropped by the bees in their hustle, perhaps in running against each other. Those pellets are very sweet, as we have ascertained by actual taste. We advise this method of supplying early " bee-bread " to the colonies, when blossoms are delayed and there are no stores of pollen left from the previous season. If the bees are slow in coming to it, bait them with a little honey or some old empty combs. Pollen was also formerly called " farina," which is the Latin for " flour." Bevan thus called it in his " Honey Bee." — Editor.] Bee Diseases BY GEORGE \V. BERCAW. SO far as my observation goes, the two brood diseases, American and European foul brood, are never found in the same hive at the same time. The one type which most beekeepers here dread is the European or black brood, as it is sometimes called. A good magnifying glass is quite handy in making examinations of the brood, .\merican foul brood shows itself usually about the time that the nurse bees cease feeding and imme- diately preceding the capping of the brood-cells. It is sometimes quite difficult to detect unless the colony has been affected for some time. It can be observed by the irregular capping of the cells, usually sealed in patches, and the unsealed occasionally empty appar- ently, as the larva sinks down and takes an appearance resembling coffee color. If a match or tooth-pick is inserted in the cell and withdrawn the contents assume a stringy, thread-like appear- ance. Later on it dries in the cell, 'ihe beekeeper whose organs of smell are sensitive readily discovers an odor resembling that of common joiner's glue in its heated state. All colonies should be kept very strong, with good vigorous queens. I recommend that no queens be kept at the head of a colony for a longer time than two seasons, especially in Califor- nia or similar climates, where bees fly during almost the 12 months of the year. In colder climates, where sea- sons are short, queens will stand longer. Do not allow in-breeding of your stock if you can prevent it. This can be done if close attention is paid. I believe that in-breeding has a great deal to do with the spread of foul brood. There is no question in my mind that it lessens the vitality of the stock. Each generation should carry the torch of life undimmedto the next. In-breeding is injurious among the animal tribes of various kinds, and this is no less true of the human race. It is said, on good authority, that the warm climates have a tendency to in- crease the virulence of foul brood. I am not sure as to this, but injurious insects of various kinds are more de- structive to vegetation in the hot than in the colder climates. This may hold as to foul brood. Bees in California fly during the 12 months of the year, and the devastation must be greater under such conditions than where they fly only during three to six months. As far as my obervation goes, the common black bee is more susceptible to the various diseases than the Italian bee, which is in a measure more im- mune from the ravages of foul brood. Glendale, Calif. Dr. Miller's Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the .•\merican Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, III. He does not answer bee-keeping Questions by mail. Caught 60 Swarms — Moving Bees L I began keeping bees in May. and so far I have over f>o strong swai ms. which I caught by putting out small boxes in the trees, and so far I have I5 of them introduced into lo- frame hives, and they are doing well. If I had not been suffering with a fractured leg for the last two montiis. I could have caught 100 swarms easily. I have been reading an article on page 274 of the American Bee Journal by Mr. C. F. Greening: ' It took me w years to discover that my children did not have to watch the bees for about four months." etc. Kindly let me know how he does it. I only want to get the good spring swarms May swarmsl. and put them to work for the rest of the year, not having any natural swarming. 2. I want to move my bees about 40 miles by water-way to a better location, as the bees are mostly wild and dark. Which is the best way to close the hive and not smother the bees ? California. .\nsvvers.— I. I don't know how he gets along without watching for swarms, as he doesn't say. The only inkling he gives is where he says: "My swarming for the year is done during May. 1 have not had a nat- ural swarm for five years." From that it is a pretty safe guess that he shakes swarms in May. thus anticipating any later swarm- ing. If that always works satisfactorily with him. it must be that his bees, his location, or something else must be different from mine. Not every year are my bees strong enough in May to be ready to be divided. If I should divide them so early. I would ex- pect some of them to swarm later on. But being so much farther south. May is likely none too early for you. At any rate, if you will shake or divide your colonies as late as you can without having them swarm nat- urally, you will likely have little natural swarming later. 2. Use wire-cloth for ventilation. To close the entrance of a hive, fake a piece of wire cloth as long as the inside width of the en- trance and 2 or 3 inches wide. Bend it at right angles, and then crowd it into the en- trance so it will be wedged fast. But that will not answer if your entrances are like mine, 2 inches deep. In that case take a strip of wire-cloth about 2 incheswider than the depth of your entrance, and as long as the inside width of the entrance. Double over the edge h of an inch, or an inch, and crease it down Hat. Place the wire-cloth against the entrance with the folded edge down at the bottom-board, and nail over the upper part of the wire-cloth a strip of lath with a small nailat each eiid. If the weather is cool, or if the bees be moved at night, this ventilation at the entrance may be enouk'h. If more is needed, make a frame the same size as the top of the hive, cover it with wire-cloth, and fasten it on top of the hive with wood screws. If necessary, the cover can be put about 2 inches above this, a block at each corner holding up the cover, being fastened with hive-staples. Even with this ventilation, if the weather be hot and the bees kept on the way long, water should be sprayed on them from time to time. Granulation of Honey What causes the yranulatioLi of honey? Is there any way to prevent it ? I sold some to a man this fall. He says it was granulated in the combs and he will not buy any more. Does it make any difference when the honey is gathered from different flowers as to its " sugaring ?" Maine. Answer— The tranulation of honey is caused, or as least hastened, by cold. Some honey, however, granulates readily without being reduced to a low temperature, since the honey from some plants granulates very readily, while the honey from some other plants scarcely granulates at all. Frequent changes from warm to cold favors granula- tion more than a steady continuance of cold 62 February, 1914. American ~Bee Journal stirring lioney hastens granulation. If honey is heated as much as it will stand without injuring its aroma or flavor, say somewliere below i6o degrees, and sealed up while hot. it will continue liciuid. Your inquiry, however, is more particu- larly about comb honey. While honey in the comb is slower about granulation than extracted honey, we are more helpless about preventing granulation or reducing it to a liquid state after it is once granulated. I'o be sure, some have reported melting comb honey— or bringing it again to a liquid state- without injuring the comb, yet it must be a rather ticklish job. I ///////(■ that honey left a considerable time on the hive is less in- clined to granulate than that which is re- moved just as soon as it is sealed, but here you meet the troulile that leaving it on the hive too long darkens the comb. Perhaps the best you can do is to leave your sections on as long as you can without having the combs darkened, and then keep them in as warm a place as you can until sold. Kind of Super to Use ? I expect to engage in the production of comb honey more than ever before, and de- sire advice and directions as to the width of sections you use with separators, and the width you would use without separators. In your opinion is it absolutely [lecessary to use separators in order to get the largest possible number of marketable sections ? I believe you use the T supers: if not, what kind of super do you recommend ? Florida. Answer.— I use the T super, and know of nothing better. I use 4/ix4''4Xi'8 sections, as do the majority, with plain wood separators If you want to dispense with separators, you will get combs of the same thickness by having the sections iVs inches instead of ili. But I don't believe you can get along without separators. A few beekeepers do get along without them, but most of them find it true economy to use them. I have tried doing ivithout them, and it would take a good deal of money to hire me to continue it. Uniting Two Colonies 1. Let me designate two colonies very strong and just ready to swarm, as Nos. i and 2. If No. i should swarm before No. 2. would it be all right to move No. 2 to a new location and set the swarm on the old stand of No. 2? Would they accept the field bees of No. 2 ? 2. If. in the spring, one should have a num- ber of weak colonies, could they be united with stronger ones and not have any fighting? Maine. Answers —I. It should work all right without any fighting. 2. If you put two colonies together without any precaution, each one having its own queen, there is danger of fighting. A great many times I have safely united by taking i. 2 or 3 frames with adhering bees from one colony and simply placing beside the brood- nest in another hive, A safe way is to place one hive over the other with a common sheet of newspaper between. The bees will gnaw a hole in the paper and gradually unite peaceably. The DadanI Hive I am not acquainted with the Dadant hive, and do not have the book. (I have the origi- nal " Langstroth." third edition, printed in 1873. the year I bought it.) From tliecuton page 41Q. December issue of the American Bee Journal, it appears that the Dadant hive has a double back. What is the object of the extra board, marked /•' ' It seems to me that this would only make the hive heavier and more expensive. At the front, the thin strip. //, provides a bee-space, /?, P. between the super and the cap. Would not a similar strip at the rear accomplish the same result? I can see no reason for the wide space. P. A', at the rear of the super. I presume that the wide space. T. over the super is to provide room for a quilt, a mat. or a thin board, laid on top of the extracting frames. I am only asking for information, having no intention of making any such hive. California. Answer.— The Dadant hive is a cold coun- try hive. The double back and the two dummies, one on each side, make it a double-walled hive on all sides, but the front, which we always aim to face south. The bees are. therefore, better sheltered on the cold sides. We find this much better for wintering than the single wall. As to the cost, if we stop to figure that a hive which is well made and well painted will last 30 years, we will not hesitate much to spend what we think is necessary to make it good. The double back also has another advan- tage. You will notice that the outer board drops lower than the bottom-board. This effectually protects the bottom against any rain or moisture that might slip in from the rear. In a warm country like California, where wintering is not difficult, a rear strip like the one in front will give a surface suHicient to adjust the cloth and straw mat. No. 1 Mr. Jones has found that hybrids do better — HvBRii) Ai'iARY OF G. F. Jones, at Galax, Va. ' in his locality" than pure Italians. They are less inclined to rob, need less feeding, and make more honey. February, 1914. American Hee Journal for the additional strii) is for llial purpose, You could, therefore, dispense with the rear board. We use both cloth and straw mat. In addition, as our cover telescopes, we like plenty of room all around and over the su- per, and we make it a trifle narrower than the hive body, so as to have room all around. We use only 10 frames in the super, with a space of i6 inches inside, or one inch and six-tenths for each comb. This gives us heavier extracting combs than usual. We sometimes use only Q. when they are already built and very thick. The telescope cover, which may seem super uous to many per- sons, is very convenient to prevent robbing around the upper joints. We are not urging the use of our hive. We are content to use it ourselves, but realize that most apiarists prefer something cheaper.— Editor. Stingless Bees Is it true, as the newspapers report, that stingless bees have been produced i California. ANSWER.-There are stingless bees in South Amei ica, as has been long known, but they are not of value commercially. What you have reference to. however, is likely the report that has been going the rounds of the papers, more or less exaggerated, that a bee- keeper in England has produced bees that do not sting, although having stings. From what is said about them in the bee journals there, the likelihood is that they are no gentler than bees have been found at many times in different places. Reinforced Foundation Please'state in the .■\merican Bee Journal the advantage in using the reinforced comb foundation. Some claim it takes less than other comb foundation, being thick on top and thin on bottom. If there is any comb foundation that is better please let me know, and if it is a fake tnen also give us the facts. California. Answeb.— I did not know that it had ever been claimed that less foundation was needed if reinforced. Likely what you mean is that a less weight of wax might be used in tilling a hive with foundation. I do not see why that may not be true. Foundation for brood-combs must be of a certain weight to prevent sagging. But the sagging is chieHy at the top. Now. if we use lighter founda tion and reinforce the top part, there is a saving of wax. It is claimed also that bees begin work more promptly on the wax that is painted on. 1 have never used it enough to speak with great authority, but I do not be- lieve there is any fake about it, and I do not remember having seen a report from any one who condemns it after having tried it. Shallow or Full Depth Frames ? — Extractors 1 What si^e of extracting frames are bet ter, the shallow fraines or the full depth ? 2. What size extractor is better, with q^8 comb baskets or ii^a ? Ohio, Answers.— I. The shallow frames are the better, probably in every respect except that they cannot be used interchangeably with brood-combs. 2 Get o^a. unless you have frames deeper than the Langstroth. Beginner's Questions 1. Every year some of my honey is devoured by moths. Is it the race of bees which causes it? What would you advise ? 2. I have a strong colony of bees in a com- mon box-hive, the entrance is small, and I do not secure much honey. Would you ad- vise me to transfer them into modern quar- ters? What time would you advise, early in spring or at the height of clover bloom ? 3. I have three old colonies of bees, would you advise me to requeen in spring ? 4. Part of the combs in the frames in these hives are not straightso I can lift them out. would you advise me to take them out and use full sheets of foundation ? 5. I run for comb honey and use separators inmysupers. what kind of starters would you advise me to use. one at the bottom and top of the section ? Illinois. Answers.— I. I suppose you mean the lar- vae of the bee-moth, or wax-worms, as they are generally called, eat the combs. This they may do, no matter what kind of bees you have, provided colonies are weak, but the trouble will not be nearly so bad if you have Italians. Indeed, with strong colonies of Italians you will probably have no trou- ble at all. So long as the trouble continues, you would do well to fumigate your comb honey. If you use sulphur you will do well to fumigate twice; the first time very soon after taking the honey from the bees, and the second time two or three weeks later, to kill the worms that were in the eggs at first fumigation. If you use carbon disulfide no second fumigation will be needed, as that kills eggs as well as larva;. 2. Wait until the colony swarms; hive the swarm in an up-to-date hive, set it in place of the old hive, and put the old hive close beside it. A week later move the old hive to the oppositeside of the swarm, and two weeks later still (or three weeks after swarming break up the old hive and add its bees to the swarm. 3 That depends. It the colonies are of good stock, let them alone. If they are of poor stock, requeen after honey is yielding, or perhaps full better about the close of harvest. 4. Yes. 5. Yes; a f 8 starter at bottom, and a top starter that will come within Va of an inch of the bottom one when both are fastened in. T Supers I read in " A B C of Bee Culture " that you use theT supers. I have a few regular su- pers on hand, but figuring how much furni- ture it takes, and the trouble to keep them clean. I thought perhaps this was your rea- son for using the super you do. West Virginia. Answer.— My reason for using the T super is that I think I can produce section honey of fine quality with less labor and expense than with any other kind I have tried, and I have tried many kinds. I think very few who have used the T super probably have given it up. Some who have condemned it have never used it properly. I know of no super that allows the same number of sec- tions in more compact form. When 4 su- pers are on a hive— in a good season it is a common thing to have 4 to 6 supers on a hive —the distance from the top of the lower sec- tion to the bottom of the upper section is not more than q!s inches. It does not seem possible to invent any super that will allow the sections to be in less space, for no room is taken up with bars under or over the sec- tions. In most other supers there is a bot- tom-bar under the sections, and in some a top-bar as well. In the latter case, even if top and bottom bars be only !■♦ inch thick, the distance between upper and lower sec- tions, instead of being <)'A. will be ii inches. But a bottom-bar ^i-inch thick is likely to sag, and even 'i inch may sag through warp- ing. The T-super has the advantage that the T-tins are entirely rigid, with no sagging whatever. I might go on and tell how easy it is to fill the super with sections, and how easy to clean the sections. .\11 these things, when pioperly done, set the T-super at the head, in my judgment, as the best super for producing comb honey. Along with this is the fact that it costs less. No. 2.— Mr. .Jones' Virginia apiary of pure Italians. See " Reports and Experiences' Department. Bigger Crop for Dr. Miller With 10-Frame Hives 1. How much more honey would you have gotten this past season if you had used lo- frame hives ? 2. Don t you think the lo-frame hives are a better all-around size than the 3-frame ? Illinois. Answers — i. I don't know. Possibly more; possibly less. 2. There are many factors to be considered in the case. An 8-frame hive is lighte r to handle, and so are the supers used with it. Sometimes a lo-frame hive is too small, and if two stories are used it is too large, being practically a 2oframe hive. A i6-frame hive would be better; that is, two stories of 8 frames each. It is a common thing for colo- nies in 8-frame hives to run short of stores iii February, 1914. American Vae Journal in sprineor early summer, even if alt avail able space may have been well filled. That may make little or no difference if tlie care- ful beekeeper be right on his job to supply the deficiency. With the inexperienced or careless beekeeper it may make the differ- ence between success and failure. But even the careful beekeeper could feel a little more easy in mind with the larger hive. If the bees be left to their own devices, a col- ony in a 10 frame hive is likely to be stronger than one in a smaller hive, when the time for the harvest arrives. Taking all these things into consideration, it would seem that the larger hive is the safer to tie to. Now it would be just like you to turn on me and ask why 1 use 8-frame hives. Well. I have them, and it would be Quite a job lo change all my hives and supers. I am used to the extra management needed for an 8- frame hive, and that makes it less objection- able than it would be for a beginner. A lo- frame hive feels a good deal heavier to me now than it did 30 or 40 years ago, so that the matter of weight is a stronger factor with me than it is with the average beekeeper. Yet I sometimes dream that I'd like yet to have a few lo-framers so I could compare them with the smaller hives, and so I could have the fun of feeling easier about the bees running out of stores in winter and spring. Does Presence of Moisture Mean Imperfect Wintering? I am wintering my bees out-of-doors in the following manner: Take off cover, place piece of burlap over frames, place empty comb-honey super on top of this, till with chaff, put cover on top raised one-sixteenth of an inch. I do this to prevent moisture from collecting inside. This does prevent it to a great extent, but even with this pro- tection, when we have a spell of weather with the thermometer down to zero every morning for a week, some frost will collect on the walls and outside frames of hives, and there will be some ice inside around the entrance; but the clusters are apparently dry and comfortable. Do you think this much moisture will keep the bees from win- tering perfectly ? I have tried packing out- side on top of the cover. It didn't do much good. Montana. Answer. — When you go out in very cold weather on a long drive, you often find frost and ice collecting on the wrappings about your face. That is no proof that you are not wintering all right. Same with the bees. They are breathing out moisture all the time, and when it's cold enough you will find tliat moisture condensing into frost and ice. even though the bees be wintering all right. of the top of the hive covered with wire cloth, which frame you will fasten upon the top of thu hive with four wood screws. You will put the hives in the car with the frames running in the same direction as the rails of the railroad, nailing strips on the bottom of the car so the lower tier of hives cannot shuck about. You must not set the upper tiers of hives piled up directly upon one an- other, for that would stop ventilation; but over the lower tiers you will put 2x2 or 2x4 scantling, running across the car, on which to rest the upper tiers, thus leaving a space for ventilation. You will probably use a cat- tle-car, which favors ventilation; and you will see to it that you can get at all the hives to spray the bees with water when they be- come excited and heated. Good Report from Michigan V\'ith eitVL-n culoiiiess 9 good ones and 2 very weak ones 1 produced ;i,l)00 one pound sections of salable comb honey and increased • to thirty-eight colonies, all strong and in good condition for winter and only had to feed two. Most of my honey was clover and was sold at home at an average of ISJac per lb. I use eight or nine frame hives and run on the double deck plan, setting off upper decks for increase as fast as I get six combs (four of brood and two empty combs and two full sheets of foundation). I give them one or two supers — bees and all — from the old colony. L. & H. APIARIES, Clarkston, Mich. Dec. 15, 1913. Split Frames and Sections If a frame instead of being gruoved with a wedge was split in the center and a sheet of foundation laid between the two halves and then nailed together well, would it not be a much more substantial job? If the honey sections were split through the center and the super frame laid down on a flat surface, four of the half sections placed in it. then a sheet of foundation of proper size laid on it, then four more halves laid on that and pressed down tight, the whole thing picked up and placed in the super and a separator put in and another frame filled as before and so one until the super is full and then wedge up tight, it seems to me it would be less trouble and a better job. The foundation would certainly be in solid and full. I think the large frames should have the two lower corners clipiied off for an open- ing around the sheet of comb and a hole about ]':. or 2 inches made in the middle, just ai ovc the center so that the l)ees could pass through in winter without having to crawl around the outside of the frame. What do you think of the scheme? Uf course, if it is worth doing, the frames and honey sections should be made in halves at the factory as one could not do a good job after they are already made. Silvis, 111. C CORBIN. The section splitting scheme has been in use for years in England and is also used in this country. Mr. Aaron Coppin of Wenona, Illi- nois, produces all his section honey in that way. Why it is not used more by comb honey producers I am unable to say, utiless it is because the outside of the split section does not look quite so neat. As to the splitting of the frames, it would have a great fault, that of making the end shoulders too weak after they were split. We find no trouble in putting in the foundation with the wedge. We believe that after prac- tice a man can put it in faster than he could nail the frame together. Cutting openings in the combs, as you sug- gest, would be of no use, for the bees almost invariably fill those openings again. We tried it years ago to our heart's content. , EDITOR. Praise for Hybrids I am enclosing three views of my apiaries. Ko. 1 is my Hybrid yard. This yard has no pure Italian's in it and it is my finest yard; Shipping Bees 1500 Miles by Railroad 1. How many a-frame dovetailed hives with extracting supers will it take to make a 20.000 pound carload ? 2. How about fixing bees in the hives to be shipped 1500 miles by rail? How shall I go about it to do a good job so there will be no bees getting out. and how should they sit in the car— lengthwise ? Oregon. Answers. — i. That depends upon the weight of the hives and upon the capacity of the car. Of course a loframe hive ought to weigh more than an 4-frame one. and a hive with iTiuch honey should weigh more than one with very little; also there is quite a difference in the capacity of cars. Kind the average weight of your hives with their con- tents and outfit, and see how many limes that is contained in the amount you want for the load. That will give you the number to make the carload. 2. To make a good job of it is something of an undertaking. In brief, you will use wire- cloth for ventilation, having the entrance closed with it. and having a frame the size iNo i-Mr G. K. Jones' home apiary up in the Blue Kidge Mountains from which he never gets surplus. It is kept near home for experiments. February, 1914. American l^ee Journal it contains fifty -six colonics. 1 secured ISOO lbs. of sourwood honey from tins yard. The bees are in tine condition for wintering and I never fed tliem a pound of sugar. Cut No. 2 is all pure three and five band Italians. This yard contains forty colonies, and from it I secured 19S0 H's. of honey. You will notice this yard is less in number by six- teen colonies and gave 100 lbs. more honey. But I am sorry to state that this yard is determined to **starve to death" and I have already fed it 325 lbs. of sugar. Now it is only one-fourth of a mile from my Hybrid yard, and as the climate and conditions are exactly the same, it is a puzzle to me to ex- plain this difference in the two yards. I am bound to praise the Hybrids. Cut No. 3 is my home yard, twenty-five colonies. My home and this yard are situated on top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about three-thousand feet higher than my other bees. This yard is across the line between North Carolina and Virginia. These bees are tucked away in winter tiuarters when my other yards are out working on soft maple and peach bloom; it is only one hour drive from my home down to the valley where I find flowers blooming and bees humming. I never get any honey from my home yard. I have 119 colonies and only had one swarm to come out this season. I enjoy reading the Ameri- can Bee Journal and most especially the Editor's travels through the Old Countries. G. F. JONES. Nov. 29 1913. Galax, Va. Good for a Beginner This is my first year, and all 1 learned was from the American Bee Journal and the book that I bought of you. I had 70 lbs. of honey. How was that for a beginner, his first year, with no help ? E. F. REHBERG. New Haven, Conn. , Stopping Leaky Joints Just read your editorial comment in January issue "Beeswax for leaky joints in Feeders." 1 his has been my greatest trouble with the Division Board Feeders. 1 can nail them perfectly and wax them well; they may not leak at first but just as soon as the feeder is used a little it will swell, crack, or in some way leak; the syrup will run out and incite robbers. Of course, 1 got the wax only hot enough to melt. You say use a preparation of hot wax, rosin and fine wood ashes. Please give the proportion of each. 1 suppose you mean hard or English rosin made or left from distilling. J. A. SMITH. Lawrenceville, Ga. I As a matter of course if the cracks in your feeders are very large the hot wax will run through without stopping there. The joints should first be made as light as possible. The preparation of wax, rosin aivi ashes is usually made with one part of beeswax to four parts of hard rosin, melted together. The ashes are added in such quantity as may be necesary to harden the preparation. A lit- tle trial will give the proper proportions. The less wax is used, the harder the preparation becomes. It becomes hard very quickly. Feeders made of light wood and not coated with some sort of preparation or paint will soak the feed and swell. Then if allowed to get dry they shrink and leak again. We have stopped very large cracks in bar- rels with the wax and rosin preparation above mentioned. For large cracks more ashes are used. In melting rosin, beware of its tend- ency to get afire or to boil over when hot. Does Beekeeping Pay ? V\'e commenced the season with 150 colonies, took 500 twenty-four lb. cases of very fine honey and increased to 185 colonies and have quite a lot of chunk honey left for our home trade. We ran short of sections just when we needed them most. We hope to do bet- ter next time. Our secret of success is young Home ok G.F.Jones, and Some of His Helpers. queens and strong colonies. Bees are packed in chaff and are wintering nicely. Will need a few good queens to breed from in June as I want to change the stock just a little. This year our best colonies made nearly three- hundred sections but our average was about five cases to the hive, spring count; not quite as well as Dr. Miller did. Colorado. J. E. WALCHER. wise good market. I shipped about one and a half tons this fall and sold nearly a ton of hone>' at home. I work for comb honey. J. C. DAVIS. Marshfield, Wis. Jan. 5, 1914. Good Crop in 1913 I have thirty colonies of bees and all in good shape. Honey crop was good this year but not quite as good as last year. We have not had any snow here yet. Our bees are all on the summer stands. CATHERINE WAINRIGHT, Tilton, Iowa. Jan. 10, 1914. Dry Season but Good I ilid not lose any colonies last winter. I had ten colonies to begin with and increased to fourteen. I harvested six hundred pounds of honey from the ten, spring count. 1 had two that gave 112 sections each. The out- look is not very good for next year. HENRY BEST. Hibbetts, Ohio. Fair Yield My bees did fairly well the past season. I have extracted 712 lbs. from twenty colonies winter. I would have made a big run this season if the linden trees had bloomed. ED. WINKING. Jan. 8. 1914. Ouincy, III. A Good Wisconsin Report Had six colonies spring count; received something like 900 lbs. of honey, mostly comb honey of best quality. Extracted sold for 10c lb. and comb for IGc lb. MR. J. E. BALZER, Sauk City. Wis. Dec. 17, 1913. Prospects Not Bright for 1914 This is my third season with bees. Twenty colonies. Spring count, gave me 1,000 lbs. of honey this season; about 280 lbs. comb and the balance extracted honey, all of good quality and a very dry season at that. J. A. HORN. Westwood. N. J. Dec. 10, 1913. WESTERN BEE KEEPERS i^^oUera^d get the best floods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver, Colorado Good Prospects in Texas Prospects for early honey and queens were never better here at this time of year. Bees are getting pollen now and our beU honey plants are up in fine shape and be^ nning to bloom. No frost here yet this winter. Thc- floods did some damage in my section. I was water bound a week in the flooded portiot. of the State. There is no place like Soutb Texas. GRANT ANDERSON. San Benito, Tex. Nearly Three Tons of Comb Honny 1 try to study the nature of the honey bee. for the nearer one comes to nature, the neai er he comes to perfection. There are many things we can do to assist nature and there- by profit by our work. There are so many who keep a few bees and have no knowledge of the real instincts of the little workers, also no knowledge of the value of their pro- duct so that sometimes they spoil an other Poultry and Bees Biggest Profits This is the year to add poultry to your bee business. Enormous demand for chickens and eggs, on account of meat shortage, boosts prices highest ever. Let out great Free Serv- ice guide you. Free for the asking. Start right with i^V^T>Uir^C INCUBATORS \^ I A rrfldlVO and BROODERS World "h Standard Self-nj^lating. self-ventUatiog. Fireproof, insurable. Highest records for big. conlinuous hatches. Get Cvphera Co.'s244- page catalog and poultry giiioc each; ib.bo per dozen; $so per 100. Tested, 00c each; iio.io per dozen; S80 per 100, Delivery guar anteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity; 2frame, Si,5o; 3-frame. $2,00, Add price of above queen wanted, Spencer Apiaries Co,. Nordhoff. Calif, We reaueen our bees every year with best Italian stock to prevent swarming. We offer the one-year old queens removed from these hives at 50c each; $5.40 per doz. ; $40 per 100. Delivery guaranteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity: 2-frame, 81,50; 3-frame. $2.00. Add price of above queens wanted. Spencer Apiaries Co., Nordhoff. Calif. California Italian Queens — 3 banded and Goldens by return mail after March 15 Select untested, one. 7sc; 12. 88. o.-. Test- ed. Si, 00; breeder, S3. 00. Bees by the pound, a specialty, ready April 1. i lb,. Si.35; 2 lb . 82.50. Delivery and satisfaction guaranteed, Corresi^ondence solicited. Circulars free. J. E. Wing. 155 Schieler Ave,, San Jose. Calif. Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens. Ready March i. They have been bred for three points, prolificness, gentleness and honey-gathering qualities. Prices. Select Untested. 75c each; 6, 84.25; 12. S8.25; 50. 832 50; Inc. S60. Tested, 81.50; Select Tested. 82,00. Garden City Apiary Co.. R, R, 3, Box 86. San Jose, Calif. FOR SALE HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey,' Sample for stamp. Null Co,. Demopolis, Ala Wanted— Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax. R. A. Burnett & Co., 6Ai2t 173 S, Water St,, Chicago. Ill, For Sale— Choice extracted honey, thick, well ripened, delicious flavor. Price, oc per pound in new 60-lb. cans. Address, 2Atf J. P. Moore. Morgan. Ky. For Sale— 4000 lbs. fine quality raspberry- milkweed honey at 8c per lb. Also 1000 lbs. light amber at 7c f. o, b, here. All in new 60- lb. cans (2 in case;. Small sample free, 2Atf P. W. Sowinski. Bellaire. Mich. Buyers of honey will do well by sending for th" February number of the Beekeepers' Review containing the name and address of over 100 National members having honey for sale. It is free for the asking. The Beekeepers' Review. Northstar. Mich. Siooo ione thousand). I will pay the above amount in cash for one pound of honey that is equal to my A'td Ripe (Harnessed Sun- beams) Honey in digestibility, nutrient, value or flavor. Samples and prices free. C. W. Dayton. Owensmouth. Calif. India— The Eastern Commercial Agency, 3i4g Richey Road. Ahmedabad. Contractors and Agents, export beeswax and India pro- visions, pickles, drugs and condiments. Im- port motor, electric and municipal goods and machinery. For Sale— No. i white clover comb. S3. 50 per case; No. 2. 83.00 per case. No. i fall comb, S3.00 percase; No. 2 fall, 82 50 per case. All cases have 24 sections, and 6 cases to carrier. Quirin-t he-Queen- Breeder, Bellevue, Ohio. Extracted Honey — Best pure Illinois. White Clover and blends with Sweet Clover. Amber Fall and Spanish-needle grades. Also fine Western Water-white and Light Amber Alfalfa. All packed in 5. 10 and 60 lb. cans. Some in barrels. Samples and prices Free. Dadant & Sons, Hamilton, III. SUPPLIES, For Sale — Root's goods and Dadant's foundation at factory prices. Spencer Apiaries Co., Nordhoff. Calif. Beekeepers!— If you are interested in double-walled hives write for our free cata- logue. The L. K. ilowden Mfg. Co.. Fillmore. N. Y, Bee-Keeper. let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They re nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co,, jAtf Cireenville. Tex. Better Hives kok Less Money— Bee- keepers' suiiplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick. Snnnyside. Wash. Double the honey crop and save half the labor, 25c, Money back it not satisfied. O. N. Baldwin, Baxter Springs, Kan, ONE2}ixi3 Vandervoort Mill, light or me- dium brood. 818; one-sixth inch super. Root Mill, S8 00. Both in perfect order, F. H, Cyrenius, Hillside Park. Oswego. N. Y. For Sale— 20 Horse Power I, H. C. Deliv- ery Truck; good as new. In fine condition and running order. Will be sold at a bargain. A3t L. Werner, Edwardsville. Ill, I Reprint of Old Original Langstroth work has just been printed, and will he mailed on receipt of 8100, See full pageadvertisement in this issue. For Sale — Empty second-hand cans, two cans to the case; good as new; 25c per case. C, H. W, Weber, 2146 Central Ave.. Cincinnati. Ohio. For Sale— My 40 acre farm. 40 colonies of bees. 40 empty hives, ail in good condition. Fine location for bees. Must sell before last of April. Selling on account of old age. For full particulars write. J, Berglof, Rt. 2. Ft. Ripley.. Minn. A Rare Opportunity to start in the bee business, with the sale end of the business all worked out. It consists of four yards of bees; 140 colonies all told. One of those yards contains very carefully bred Carnio- Ian bees and some very fine breeding queens of this race A Carniolan trade that took 500 queens last summer. Two and a half acres land mostly set to small fruit; one horse, harness and wagon; one Overland automobile, model 40. with body to set on for carting bee fixtures to and from yards; one honey packing house 14x28 feet, with full equipment for packing honey in glass. A honey housethat takeS2ooo dozen ^luring the season. A mail order trade that takes 10.000 lbs. honey in tins, shipped direct for family use. Full equipment for running these bees for extracted honey. This splendid oppor- tunity is open in New Jersey. Address. "Opportunity." care of American Bee Jour- nal. Hamilton. Illinois. 2Ait MISCELLANEOUS Rufus-Red Belgian Hares. Price list free. Harvey L, Stumb, Quakertown. Pa, I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col" any; my neighbors got none. I'll tell you how for 25c. O, N. Baldwin, Baxter. Kan. To Exchange for extracted honey, one Wheel-hoe with Seeder; one Spray Pump; one Cider Mill. All high-grade articles: used very little. Write for particulars. John E. Miller. 44 BroadSt..New York, N. Y. Honey as a Health Food is a 16-page booklet giving uses of honey in recipes and as a medicine, .lust the thing to create a local demand for your honey. We print your business card on all orders for 100 or more. Prices as follows, postpaid: 50 copies goc. luo for 81. 5o, 250 for 83 00. 500 for SS-oo. 1000 for 8'j.oo, American Bee Journal, Hamilton, 111, POULTKY For Sale — Buft Orpington eggs, pure bloods: 81.00 for 15. Satisfaction guaranteed. 2Aiy W, H, Payne, Hamilton. Illinois. HONEY LABELS Advertise Your Business with Business Cards. 500 printed. 75c. 2Att Pearl Co.. Clintonville. Conn. The Ni'mrer of enquiries coming in for honey labels has been so large that we have decided to put in a stock of these for the convenience of our readers. Should you be in need of anything in this line, send for a copy of our label catalog, which will be sent free, American Bee Journal, Hamilton, 111. February, 1914. American Hae Journal Chicago. Jan. i;.— Sales have been very slow and unsatisfactory for the past 30 days. and there does not seem to be any encour- agement in the present outlook, stocks are heavy and prices are uncertain, for that rea- son it is most dirticult to give accurate fig- ures. .-^ No. I to fancy grades of comb are held around 15c per pound, but alfalfa mixed and sweet clover grades are difficult to move at much lower prices. Fancy grades of white clover and basswood extracted honey sells at 8@gc. accordint; to quantity and other considerations; ambers ~&Sc. Bees- wax is steady at from ji(?33c. selling upon arrival. R. A. Burnett & Co. Kansas City. Mo.. Jan. 14.— The demand for comb and extracted honey is very light, especially for comb. Receii5ts of extracted light, but receipts of comb large. We quote as follows: No. 1 white comb. 24 sections per case. $2.60 to $2.75; No. 2. $2.40 to $2.50.. No. i amber. $2.75; No. 2. $2.25 to $2.50. White ex- tracted, per pound. 8@8J^c: amber. 7@8c. Beeswax, per pound, 25@ioc. C. C. Clemons Produce Company. Los .\NGELEs. Jan. 20.— There is so little demand at the present time for honey that quotations are merely nominal. I'here are left on the coast only few cars of alfalfa light amber honey, which can be bought at s.'jC in carload lots. A very smailsupply of fancy White orange honey, only enough for local use. is held at y.Sc: all in 5-gallon cans. The stocks of wax are most entirely out of pro- ducers'hands, and what little is for sale is bringing producers 30c per pound. Ham'iltox & Menderson. San Francisco. Jan. iq.— The demand for comb honey has not been very brisk, al- though all the dark or poorer grades have been sold. No. i fancy comb. is'L'ifjc per sec- tion, and the extracted honey is not moving at all. 'I'he demand seems due shortly, and buyers are waiting for conditions. Nice yel- low beeswax. 30c; darker grades. 16(224. The rains so far this _eason have exceeded the general average or the normal fall, so that agriculturists, as well as beekeepers, are anticipating a glowing crop. John C. Frohliger. Cincinnati. Jan. ig.— There is no demand neither for comb nor extracted honey, a condition that is a general rule for this sea- son of the year. However, this season it has assumed a peculiar condition owing to ap- parent big stocks on hand with someholders who see fit to slash prices. Whether it will have any tendency to further lower the values than they are now. remains to be seen within the next go days, and for that reason we will not quote prices this month. Beeswax is in very good demand, and we are paving 12C a pound cash and uc a pound in trade for good average wax. and from i to 3 cents a pound more for something in choice bright yellow, delivered in Cincinnati. The Fred W. Muth Co. Denver. Jaa. 20.— Our local market is well supplied with honey, and our jobbing quo- tations are as follows: Strictly No. i white. i^er case of 24 sections. $2.70; choice, $2 57. No. 2. $2.43. Extracted, white, 8®oc; light amber. 7®7Kc. We are in the market for beeswax, and pay 30c per pound in cash, and 32c in trade delivered here. The Colo. Honey-Producers' Ass'n.. B'rank Rauchfuss. Mer. Boston, Jan. 20.— Fancy and No. i white comb. I5@i6cper pound. Fancy white ex- tracted in 60-pound cans, iic per pound. Beeswax. 30c. Blake.-Lee Company. Indianapolis, Jan. 2.0— Honey is moving freely. Fancy white comb is selling at i6(S>- 17c; No. I white, one cent less Finest ex- tracted. o@ioc in 5-gallon cans. Beeswax is in good demand, and producers are being paid 32c. cash or trade. Walter S. Pouder. Cincinnati. Jan. k. — The market on honey is quiet with quite a'supply. No de- mand for off grades of comb honey. No. i white sells from $3.50 to $365. Light amber honey in cans from 8(SS!5C. White honey in cans Q cents. Beeswax is selling at $35 per hundred. The above are our selling prices, not what we are paying. C. H. W. Weber & Co. New York. Jan. 18.— Our market is decid- edly dull, and the demand during the past six weeks has fallen off to a large extent- even more than in former years, notwith. standing the short crop of some grades. While comb honey is pretty well cleaned up small shipments are yet coming in quite freely, and while fancy and No. i white are in fair demand, off grades, dark and mixed are almost entirely neglected. We quote No. I and fancy white at I4@i5c: No. 2 white and light amber at I2@i3c; dark and mixed at io@iic Prices on extracted remain about the same, with very little trade at this time. Beeswax is steady at from 32@33 per pound. Hildreth & Segelken. UNTESTED QUEENS, 75c each 750 per dozen. Tested, Ji. 50. Breeders choice., $5.00. Nuclei. $1.25 per frame: good supply of bees. ,'2 lb. Bees Italians; with untestedqueen. $2.co. One pound with untested queen. $3.00. Full colony in 8-frame hive, with queen. 56.50. Fuil colony in 10-frame hive, with queen. 17-50. Inquiries from jobbers solicited. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. Excel- lent mail and express service. Only twelve hours ride to St. Louis. Mo. Can ship March 20; probably March 10. Pure Buff Leghorn and Ancona eggs for hatching. $1.00 per setting. STOVER APIARIES Mayhew, Mississippi Dr. Peiro will continue to give the readers of the American Bee Journal free advice regarding the subject of Surgical and Medical treatinent. Many have availed themselves of this offer. Return postage is all you need to send. Address, Dr. Peiro, 4536 Perry Street, Chicago, 111. general DISTKIBITEKS OK THK FANrorS DADANT FOUNDATION ROOT'S Canadian House BEES, QUEENS, HONEY, WAX Poultry Supplies, Seeds li'rift- for a (\jLif,>i.'iir THE CHAS. E. HOPPER COMPANY 185 Wright Avenue, - Toronto, Ont. Wisconsin and Minnesota Nesting The annual meeting of the South- eastern Minnesota and Western Wis- consin Beekeepers' Association will be held in the Court House at Winona, Minn., on Feb. 24 and 25. All beekeep- ers and those interested in bees are in- vited to attend the meetings and take part in the discussions whether mem- bers of the association or not. OzRo S. Holland, Sec. Kansas Meeting The Kansas State Beekeepers' con- vention will be held on Feb. 2ti and 27, 1!)14, at Topeka. O. A. Keene, Sec. Pennsylvania Meeting The Pennsylvania State Beekeepers' Association will hold its annual con- vention in theCapitol Building, Harris- burg, Pa., Feb. 20 and 21, 1914. An in- teresting program is prepared. Every- body welcome. H. C. Klincer, Sec. $2000 Crop from 2000 Tomato Plants This is the remarkable returns secured by .lohn DeBoer ivilh our new early variety of tomato under ordinary care and cultivation. Mr. DeBoer planted in his hot house some seed of our Rowe's Grand Rapids Market Tomato and later transplanted 2000 tomato plants out on a small patch of ground under the same conditions as his other varieties. He marketed $2000 worth of these big. luscious tomatoes— a record never before equaled in his experience. This tomato is large and fine in share, has a beautiful rich pink color, and solid juicy meat with but few seeds. The delicious flavor makes it a very popular market va- riety, and it stands shipment well. Avery early ripening tomato and a heavy yielder. Uniform in size— about one-half pound each —and nine-tenths of the whole crop, under proper care and cultivation, will grade as Fancy. Rowe's Grand Rapids Market To- mato surpasses all other commercial varie- ties, and is a splendid shipper. We are willing to stake our reputation on this tomato. The seed cannot be procured from seedsmen, as we own the entire stock. We are GIVING IT .A.WAY to introduce THE FRUIT BELT, and you can get a packet, if you act now. This is our Free Seed Offer Send us fity cents for one year, or one dol- lar for the three years' subscription to The Fruit Belt, new or renewal, and we will in- clude a trial packet of this tomato seed. We have only a limited supply, so do it NOW. USE THIS COUPON THE FRUIT BELT. Grand Rapids. Mich.— GcntUnu-n: — Enclosed please find 50c. for which send me The Fruit Belt one full year. and also send me free, postpaid, a packet of Rowe's Grand Rapids Market Tomato Seed. NAME POST-OFFICE Route. No STATE. ■ aU^.mmSKC American "Bee Joarnal WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Pricse. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y. 3 BAND LONG-TONGUED RED- CLOVER ITALIAN QUEENS For Sale,— My long- tongued Goldens are proving themselves to be the bee to clean P'oul Brood. This is why I have such a large trade in Canada. Mr. E. L. Cox, of Jesup. Iowa, in- troduced 50of my 1-band queens in Foul-Broody colonies in 1012; and he said the disease was cleaned up where each of those queens was put. They gathered such a arge crop of honey in 1012 that he bought 53 more in I'JU. One Untested, 75c; 6, $4.00; 12, $7.50; 25, $13.50; SO, $25.00 Double the above for tested queens. Bees by the pound: One lb.. S2.00; : lbs.. $4.00. One-frame nucleus. $2.00; 2 frame. $i.oo. 3- frame. $4.00. To all the above packages add the price of queen. I will begin to send out queens in April. Positively no checks will be accepted. .Send money by P. O Money Orders. All queensarrivingdead will be replaced if cage is returned by return mail. J. B. ALEXANDER, CATO, ARK. ^^^ Most Important Point To Secure a Crop of Honey the Coming Season You must heve the bees, and enough to each colony— in time. But young bees, and young queens now, and get them when you want them. Strengthen weak colonies. Replace old. worthless contalDs over four times as much ei:« makinc material as j,'miu and Iilk^■;^ tlie [Mace nf (,11^'? anil w..rm.-! In fowis' diet. That's why It ..iv... "'--" •T'i-->-t:reuter fertility. stri.nKercbk-ks.lar^:erf..wl3. 'f«*ooS\^ BONE CUTTER cuts easily and rapidly all large and small l)ones with adhering meat ami gristle. Automatically adapts tn yniir strength. Never clogs. 10 Days' Free Trial. No money down. Send for OUT free books today. F. W. MftHN CO. Bo» 348 M'LFORD. MASS MANN'S EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 29 years' experience in making everything for the beekeeper. A large factory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsville, Missouri A NICE GIFT FOR WIFE, MOTHER, SISTER We are fortunate in be- ing able to offer to our readers a real practical egg beater, cream whipper, etc. It is called the "Rob- erts Lightning Mixer." From the experience of users here, it well deserves its name. It is easy to Clean. Hard to damage, and a Pleasure to Work. The spiral perforated dasher whirling in every direction, aerates, stirs and lightens, and at the same time it completely and thoroughly mixesevery particle. We recommend it to our readers as being well worth the money. Sold in pint size. We can send them, postpaid, from the factory in Massachu- setts for 50 cents. Address all orders to AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, III. Our 1914 Catalog Now Ready Describing Our Big Stock ol Bee and poultry supplies at lowest living prices. Two large warehouses full. Do not order before you get our prices Satisfaction guaranteed or money refund' ed. Established in i8'jg. Send us a list of goods wanted for best prices H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, Illinois. ALSIKE CLOVER SEED Small and large red. alfalfa, white and yel low sweet clover seed, timothy, blue grass, rape, millet, etc. Also seed corn. Catalog of apiary supplies and seeds free F. A. SNELL, IMIIIedgeville, Illinois QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of ,1 band stock reared for honey- gathering qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later,75e Tested, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of h.^\ing queens when you want thsm. R. A. SHULT8, Crosby, Tenn. February, 1914. American Hee Journal The Double-Walled Massie Bee-Hive THE MASSIE HIVE For Comb or Extraclod Hnncy WHY NOT GIVE US A TRIAL ORDER ? Surest Protection for Bees — Increased Supply of Honey — Ttie Best Hive for any Climate Furnished in the clearest of lumber in either Cypress, White Pine or Redwood THE MASSIE VENTILATED BOTTOM Atlmits fresh air into the hive. lessening the chance of swarmint,'. and giving renewed energy to the bees. I'"ifty years in the bee supply business has shown us that the MASSIE is the very best hive, and testimonials to this effect are received daily from those who are using this hive. SATISFACTION FULLY GUARANTEED The Dovetailed Hivi We are also extensive manufacturers of Dovetailed Hives and all other Apiarian Supplies. If you are in the market for supplies, be sure to get our prices before buying elsewliere. We issue a 72-page illustrated catalog which will be mailed to any one upon request. KRETCHMER MFG. CO., COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA The Beekeepers' Review Would like very much to enroll a goodly number of new subscribers for the year 11114. Listen : Besides the 3000-colony series managed from one office, we will begin with the January number of the Review a series of articles by a beekeeper " gray with experience," that we will call the Farmers' Series, or how to produce comb honey with /n'o t'is/is a year. The Editor of the Review has looked into this system quite thoroughly, and believes that with this method that will be de- scribed in the Review during lill4, that the busy man or farmer can harvest much more comb honey per colony with this system with about a fourth of the work that is required with the ordinary system now in vogue. We are printing 400 extra sets of the Review for the last half of 1913, and as long as they last they will be included free to all newly paid in advance sub- scribers for 1914. All progressive beekeepers should subscribe for two or three good bee journals. We are making a special low price on the Review when clubbed with other bee journals. Here are two good ones : American Bee Journal one year The Review " " Gleanings " " American Bee Journal " " The Review " " To take adz'anta^e of tJiis I02 $1.00 t 1.00 s $1.00) 1.00 Both one year for All three lor $1.50 $2.00 price, all remittances should be addressed THE BEEKEEPERS' REVIEW, Northstar, Michigan N M N M N N M M N N M N N N M N W N >YTYYYYYY¥ W¥¥¥WWWWW ^ YY¥ X ^X^ ORDER Your BEE-SUPPLIES NOW Now you can get what you want and have it rcady^when you need it. Prices Now are Naturally Lower than they Will Be Later We not only name low prices, but furnish high grade goods as well. We have been manufacturing Hives, Frames, Sections, Shipping-cases, etc., over 15 years, more than 10 years under the present management. We have satisfied others, and we will try to please you. Mail us an itemized list of what you want, and we will quote you. We want to save you money. Minnesota Bee-Supply Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota N N M M N N N N N M N H M M N M N M N Y¥wwwww¥¥wwww WYYY JLiPi )rKinm I HONEY We can furnish honey to beekeepers who have run out of their own product. All our honey strictly First Class. Water-white Alfalfa Light Amber Alfalfa Amber Fall Spanish-needle White Clover Write for Prices. DADANT & SONS Hamilton, Illinois Paint Without Oil Remarkable Discovery that Cuts Down the Cost of Paint Seventy- Five Percent. A Free Trial Package is Mailed to Every One Who Writes. .•\. L. Rice, a prominent manufacturer of Adams. N. Y.. has discovered a process of maltintj a new kind of paint without the use of oil. He calls it Powderpaint. It comes in the form of a dry powder, and alt that is re- quired is cold water to make the paint weather proof, hre proof, and as durable as oil paint. It adheres to any surface, wood, stone or brick; spreads and looks like oil paint, and costs about one-fourthas much. Write to Mr. A. L, Rice, Manufacturer. 216 North St.. Adams. N. Y.. and he will send you a free trial package, also color card and full information showing you how you can save a j^ood many dollars. Write today. BEE SUPPLIES «-t ?or new i';i4 catalog out in .lanuary. Oept. S.. C. C. demons Bee Supply Co., Kansas City, Missouri. February, 1914. I American Hee Journal! " // ffoods are tuanted quick, send to Ponder. BEE-SUPPLIES EQUIPMENT Store room built expressly for the business; large concrete basement with just enoutjh mois- ture to prevent brealtare in sections; no shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. QUALITY Koot goods at factory prices. The kind that I have "*"•*'■' sold for nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I might have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but 1 would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsibility in safe delivery of the goods. Catalos; free, WALTER S. POUDER, Indianapolis, Ind. 873 Ma«saohusetts Avenue eoeoGosooso6iocecc Dittmer's Foundation Is the Comb Foundation made to suit the Honey Bee. It's the Comb Foundation that helps pro- duce the full capacity honey crop. It's the Comb Foundation to give your Honey Bees. Ask for more information ; also prices and FULL DISCOUNT on all Bee-Supplies. I Gus Dittmer Company Augusta, Wisconsin u™™™™.™..™™J BEE - KEEPER'S NOVELTY POCKET - KNIFE Your Name aud Addres.s will be put on one side of the handle as shown in the cut and on the other, side a picture of a Queen-Bee, a Worker-Bee, and a Drone-Bee. The handle is celluloid, and transparent, through which is seen your narne. If you lose this Knife it can be returned to you, or it serves to iden- tify you if you happen to be injured fatally, or rendered unconscious. The cut is the exact size; it is made of best steel. When ordering be sure to write exact name and address. Knife delivered within two weeks after we receive order. Price, postpaid, $1.00 ; or with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal — both for $1.80; or given Free as a premium for sending us 3 New sub- scriptions at $1.00 each. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. IVIanufacturers OF THE "NONE BEHER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from young, white, basswood. White Pine Hives and Supers. Excellent Shipping - Cases. Brood-Frames. Separators, etc. We invite your correspondence. Guarantee— All goods guaranteed perfect in workmanship and material or money cheerfully refunded. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wis. ]Swartfimore.c Am Now ShippiogDntested Qaeena from My CELEBRATED PEDIGREED STRAIN! Mybeesaretheproduct of many years of breed- ing by both Swarthmore and Henry Alley. Both names stand out like . beacon lightsamongour " "' past and present breed- ers, for the best queens ever produced in the United States. Never had foul brood. SWARTHMORE APIARIES, Swarthmort, Pa. DO YOU READ PROGRESSIVE POULTRY JOURNAL ? It is published in Mitchell. South Dakota, and is a live paper devoted to the interests of better poultry and more of it. Has prac- tical writers of experience in raisine poul- try Well illustrated. Send for free copy. Progressive Poultry Journal Mitchell, South Dakota THE Discount and Dull Season is here. Send us a list of goods wanted for next year, and get our prices— a money sav- ingproposition. We have the largest, most complete and best stock of any House vis- itors welcome. Catalog readv in January- it's free. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, Illinois. Early QUEENS Send me your address for Italians and Car- niolans. IBEGIN mailing Queens early in March. Untested, 75 cts. each. Tested, $1.25 each. Circular free. Grant Anderson, ^"Vfxa"J*°' SPECIAL DELIVERY During this month we shall double our usual efforts in points of delivery and service. We carry nothing but the Root make, which ensures the best quality of every thing. We sell at factory prices, there- by ensuring a uniform rate to every one. The saving on transportation charges from Cincinnati to points south of us will mean quite an item to beekeepers in this territory. We are so located that we can make immediate shipment of any order the day it is received. Honey and Wax If you haven't made arrangements for the disposition of your honey and wax for this season consult us. We buy both in large quantities, and can assure you of fair and courteous treatment, and a good price for your crop. Shipping Cases To sell your crop to the best advantage it must be well to put up in attractive style. We have ship- ping cases that answer every requirement of looks and utility. Small producers who sell their crops locally will be interested in the cartons in which comb honey is put up to sell to the fancy customers at top-notch prices. We have honey-cans, too, in cases for those who produce extracted honey. In fact, there isn't anything we don't have that the beekeeper needs, either to produce his crop or help to sell it. liarly-order discount this month is 4 percent. C. H. W. WEBER & CO. CINCINNATI, 2146 Central Avenue OHIO g«J<--v»»> ^«--V>^^<">^^<-^«<->^^^<-H^ ^^->^^«-»^^<-»^^^ •»^^«->»^^^-»^^^^* s««<-| ^M ^^^^^^^^M ^M wM 3^^^^^^^^^^^^^^SSS^S wM WE MAKE IT GOOD ^Kj^ THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS ^0^1 ^S^^^Si The Reputation of ^^^c^^ M^ DADANfS FOUNDATION ^w Sok-ivx Has been built on its merit ^uirJjju ^PMyn It is a Favorite with Beekeepers vIvM^ y&JL' Jtuui BECAUSE jltjIt jCTjlT ^K-5^SS It is so well liked by the BEES jIyc^JPK ^^^r^3 Whether it's a pound or whether it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT JKuSj^^^K! B Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way B ^^^^^^^^^^g ^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ Exhibition of Hives at Chalon-sur-Saone This exhibition was Held in the district of France, where is located Mr. Champion, whom the Editor visited while in Burgundy. — (See " Notes from Abroad'" in this issue. ) Arz iM^ncanlBee JournalJ March, 1914. ^.^f^SMSOiii^,.^ ■*>=>. PUBLISHED MONTHLY HY Ainerit'aii Bee Joiirual 1st Nat'l Bank BIdg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $i.oo a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada, $lio; and in all otlier countries in tlie Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance, " decii" on your label shows tliat it is paid to the end of December, IQ13. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS. -We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 4 lines accepted, DISCOUNTS: 1 times I4C a line g times iic a line 6 " I2c " 12 " (i yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices, 25 cents, count line Goes to press the 25th of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Gentle, More Indastrioas, Long Tongaed, The Best Honey Gatherers. I'RIZES:— \T Swiss Agriculturnl Exposi- tion, Berne. i8g5. Swiss National Exposition, Geneva, i8q6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition, Liege Belgium. i8Qb. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1007. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Extra BreedingQueens. Sj ou; Selected. S2 00; Fertilized. $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of thej ANTHONY BIACCI, National Bee- ,- Pedevilla. near Bellinzona, Keepers' Ass'n ) Italian Switzerland, This country, politically, Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. s This is the Discount Season on h I BEE-SUPPLIES AND BEES ^ I Wriie us stating what you are in need of, and we will quote you. It you sell supplies our discount sheet is yours for the asking. Catalog on n.-'iuest, I. J. STRINCHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. N W N N N N N N ft Turns Over an Important "New Leaf" Beginning with the January Number The Guide to Nature SEVERAL NEW FEATURES "Birds in the Hush." a department edited by Edmund I, Sawyer, with illustrations from original drawings by this talented artist-ornitholo^'ist " rhe Fun of Seein.i Things." a depariment for young folks, edited by Ed- ward F Bigelow. succeeding his well-known w'ork as editor of the ".Nature .Science" department of "St. Nicholas " for more than fourteen years. This department will be really new It will not be "schooly," not "nature study." not to induce parents and educators to say. " It is good for the chil- dren," but it will appeal directly to the young folks themselves, and will help them to enjoy natural objects that surround them. It will be true to its name. Subscription, $1.00 a year Single copy, 10c To new sbscribers : 4-inonths' trial for 25c. Address (and make check or money order payable to) THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION ArcAdiA Sound Beach, Connecticut @XTYTXTXTTTYYYYYTTYYYYYTYY( 'Griggs Saves You Freight" TOLEDO " Griggs Saves You Freight" New goods arriving permit us to fill orders same day as received, and this with direct lines to your door, and low freight rates, makes TOLEDO the best place to order your goods from. Our new Illustrated catalogs for 1914 are here and being mailed out. Send your name for one. Send us list of goods wanted, and receive our special prices for quantity orders. Beeswax is in great demand. Send it in now. We pay 32 cents Cash, 34 cants in Trade. Shoot it in. •>0t «.«73 Number of diseased colonies 483 Number treated by inspectors 52 Number destroyed 32 A considerable portion of the whole num- ber of 4fH diseased colonies have been treat- ed by the owners under direction of the in- spectors. A number were also destroyed by the owners. This is followed by a summary of the laws in Iowa, applying to bees and bee-diseases; a description of the dis March, 1914. American Hee Journal eases which threaten bees, the sources of contagion, and the methods of treat- ment combined with large pictures of foul brood and mothy combs, and a map of the State of Iowa, showing in what counties the diseases are preva- lent. There is also a list of Govern- ment, State, and other publications pertaining to bees with the places of publication, etc. The second part of the book is de- voted to papers read at the meeting of the Iowa association held in Des Moines in December; a brief summary of which was given in our last number. Any one interested in sweet clover should not fail to read the article, " In- structions for Sweet Clover Growing," by Frank Coverdale, one of the best known authorities on this subject. Other subjects treated are "Treat- ment of Disease," "Helps and Hin- drances in Dealing with Foul Brood," " Advertising," " Marketing the Crop," "Selling Honey Direct to Consumers," "A Season's Work," "Making In- crease," '"Exhibits." "Increasing the Consumption of Honey," " Report of the Secretary," " Comb or Extracted Honey ?" and the " Beekeepers' Legal Status." If you want to be imbued with gen- uine beekeeping inspiration, do not fail to read the article by Hamlin B. Miller entitled, " Beekeeping as a Side-line and the Fun of the Thing ;" a small ex- tract from which appears in Miss Wil- son's Department in this number. Colorado's "Big Snow." — You might be interested in the way some of our beekeepers had to do soon after the "Big Snow" that we had on Dec. 4, 5, and ti, 1913, when we had a snowfall of ■17 inches, which was followed later by a snowfall of 10 inches, making it im- possible to get about the country ex- cepting on snow shoes and skis. The bees being buried under such a great quantity of snow, in some places hav- ing stores which made it rather doubt- ful whether they would get through the winter satisfactorily unless they had an opportunity for frequent flying, it was thought to be necessary to shovel them out and give them an opportunity to fly as soon as the weather turned mild. The two pictures represent Herman Rauchfuss and his eldest son, Frank, going to their out apiaiies on skis, for the purpose of digging out their bees. They are pulling a sled along carrying their tools and overcoats. This was rather a novel experience to all of us. Now most of the snow has disappeared and the bees do not seem any the worse for it. Frank Rauchfuss. Bee-I^eping <^ For Women Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo, III. Ventilating Comb-Honey Supnrs On page 30, Bell Bros, say : " If we ventilated our comb-honey supers we would have all short-weight sections." One wonders whether that opinion is based on actual experience or upon mere supposition. At any rate we know from actual experience here that with •') or 10 times as much ventilation as given by Bell Bros, with their >'s- inch entrance we have well filled sec- tions. No doubt the statement by Bell Bros, that " the cause of the bees fin- ishing the outside of the super before the inside is the heat" is correct. In other words the heat is so great that there is delay in finishing the central sections. If, now, we should close down the ventilation, making the heat still greater, would it not make mat- ters worse .■■ So long as ventilation gives us a crop so satisfactory in quantity and quality as the crop of 1913, we are not likely to ventilate less. How His Wife Helped Him Beekeepers do not always give full credit for the help they have from their wives. Hamlin B. Miller is an e.xception. In a paper by him pub- lished in the report of the State Bee Inspector of Iowa, he says : "Now while clipping these queens, my wife as usual got busy helping (?). I set a cover loaded with bees against the fence behind the hives. She took a seat on a pile of bricks near by, close by the cover, with her dress comfort- ably spread out. Bees, I have discov- ered (and so has my wife) always travel up and not down. It was not very long until I heard a cry of surprise: 'I'm stung.' Well, she was, too. Infection set in, and after the physician had dis- continued his attentions, /was stung — for $6 -50. The super of honey I took off at that time sold for $0.00. The doc- tor overshot the mark just .50 cents, but he succeeded in getting it all for that time. But in spite of her many experiences, she still persists in run- ning out every time I monkey with those bees, and makes me as much bother to keep her off the job as any ' fool bee' that ever endeavored to at- tract all my attention." Going to the Aimaky on Skis. Recipes from a Subscriber NEW ENGLAND DOUGHNUTS. One cup full of honey, one cup of milk or water, one teaspoonful of salt, three level teaspoons of Royal baking powder and a sifting of nutmeg. (They can be made with sour milk and soda equally well. ) I do not use a cutter, for then so much of the dough must be handled over, I mix it fairly hard so as to roll it well, and then cut with a knife into about four strips, and take each strip and cut off inch strips and make either twisters or rings by bring- ing the ends together. Have them all made out before commencing to fry. FOR A COLD JUST COMING ON. One tablespoonful of honey in a cup of hot water, with a sprinkling of cay- enne pepper just before going to bed. It is a successful remedy, as we and our neighbors can testify. One of our neighbors has a boy, and she never allows him to have sugar in any form, but honey in the place of it. He is a fine lusty, bright eyed boy of 10 months. Arden, Neb. E.m.ma S. Mills. Your neighbor is a wise mother. If more mothers knew the value of honey as compared with sugar, it would be better for their children. That lusty bright-eyed youngster is in company with Dr. Miller, for he makes a practice of using honey in place of sugar in a// hot drinks. < ■ » A Foul-Broody Apiary— Catching Swarms With Traps I am enclosing a view of an apiary where foul brood is said to be; an- other of " a boy's beginning." He S4 American VeetJonrnal commenced with one colony and is catching more swarms from buildings with traps. I helped him one day get three swarms, the first one on a walnut tree. I had six combs. The second was in the roof over some blooded horses, and the owners had a time until we got the bees away. The third was Where They Have Foul Brood. in a barrel a man had bought. Before he could use it the bees had gone into the bung-hole. The barrel stood by the kitchen door. Goleta, Calif. (Mrs.) Lucy Se.xton. That picture, " Where they have foul brood," with surroundings all grown up with weeds, looks like a favorable place for the disease, where it is not likely to be interfered with until it has completed its deadly work. A Successful Lady Beekeeper Under this title, Geo. W. Williams, the man who shakes bees to make them work, says in the Beekeepers' Review : "It remains for a little energetic lady to show us how to do it success- fully, secure a good crop of honey every year, and to winter with practi- cally no loss whatever, winter after win- ter. In fact, if she loses more than one it almost breaks her heart. Frequently she goes through two successive win- ters without losing a single colony. "I am going to call her Mrs. Smith, as that is not her name and will do as well as any other. She lives in town, and like the roseate 'ads' we are see- ing less of lately, she ' keeps her birds all on one city lot. She has about 100 colonies, spring count, and she uses 100 more hives in her system. " She clips all her queens in the spring, thereby 'shaking up ' the colony and inducing prolific brood-rearing. She allows her colonies to swarm naturally. (I am not defending this part of her system, but she does it successfully.) She hives the swarm on the old stand and moves the old hive a little to one side, with the entrance turned slightly away. "AH the supers are placed on at the proper time, and the old colony is allowed to rear a young queen if the stock is satisfactory, and if not it is supplied with a virgin or a cell from good stock. When this queen begins laying, supers are given as re- quired, and all the honey possible is secured from both colonies in the or- dinary manner. "When the supers are all off, and be- fore cold weather sets in, the two colo- nies are united by shaking them to- gether, after removing the old queen, which is readily found by reason of having been clipped, and all the honey crammed into the one hive, leaving only one comb in the center, partly empty, for brood rearing. " The shaking again stimulates brood- rearing, and by winter a fine colony of young bees are ready for their long nap. (In uniting bees by shaking, she has found that it can be done success- fully, even in a dearth, if frames are shaken alternately from each hive and the whole manipulation is performed late in the evening, so that the bees get acquainted before morning.) She win- ters her colonies outdoors with hay cushions over the colonies." A Boy's Start in Bees. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. Comb vs. Extracted Honey Many beekeepers are " on the fence " as to what kind of honey to produce. It is not so hard for the beekeeper who is increasing his business to decide, for he is buying supplies right along and can use his discretion. But the beekeeper who has all the bees he wants and equipment neces- sary, does not know whether to make the change. This of course is a ques- tion every beekeeper can best decide for himself. But in the way of throw- ing light on the subject, let me say that if all the surplus honey is of good body, flavor, color, etc., and very slow to granulate, it would be more profit- able to produce extracted honey be- cause such an article would be best thus put on the market. But if the honey is a little off in body, flavor or color, it would be best to put it on the market in the comb, for it would keep better in this form, and the taste and color of it would not be as objection- able to the'consumers as if it were ex- tracted and if sold in that way. Extracted honey has become so well known that it will sell as well as comb honey on most markets. From the standpoint of labor and investment, it is best to produce e.xtracted honey when, as stated above, the article justi- fies. This has been my experience and that of Mr. T. W. Livingston, of Leslie, Ga., who has had much experience in producing honey in both North and South. He says he can make more money producing e.xtracted honey at H cents per pound than comb at 10 or 11 cents. But the honey he produces is of extra fine quality. The Price of Supplies The prices of raw material suitable for making our supplies has advanced considerably in the last year, as has also the price of labor, etc., and as a natural consequence the prices had to March, 1914. lAm^rican Hee Journal be raised on the finished article. Many beekeepers will think that the prices are too high, and on this account will reduce their orders for the season. I don't think this should be the case. Beekeepers should go right on expand- ing their business in the usual way, for supplies will never beany cheaper, and bees are increasing in value each year, and the demand for them is growing. But this rise in the price of supplies hits the comb-honey producer the heaviest blow, because so much of his supplies consist of sections, shipping- cases, etc., which go with the crop of honey; while the chunk-honey and ex- tracted-honey producer retains his supplies and the cost of suitable re- tainers for the marketing of such honey is the only added expense. Wants to Start Right Mr. Wiliif.r: — I am a beginner in beekeeping, and want to start right and produce comb honey for home use and for local market. Any sug- gestions will be greatly appreciated. Baldwin, Ga. Gresham Duckett. Answer. — I would produce chunk honey, using the regular shallow ex- tracting supers for storing room, and the regular 8-frame dovetailed one- story hives for brood-chambers, and would order not less than two supers for each colony. Three is better than one. Use full sheets of foundation in the frames in the supers, and 1-inch starters in the frames in the brood- chambers as long as you practice nat- ural swarming, but use full sheets when you resort to artificial swarming. It would be best to use queen-excluders between super and brood-chamber in order to keep the queens below so the new combs above will not be soiled by brood-rearing. You must have your honey as attractive as possible in order to sell it and obtain the best prices. You can sell the honey in frames and let the weight of the frames go in as honey. Or if your customers care to return them, you can allow them the same price per pound as you charged for the honey. Having plenty of su- pers, I would remove honey only as I sold it during the winter months. In the busy season watch the supers, and as soon as the bees get the super next to the brood-chamber about one- third full, raise it and place an empty one beneath. In this way you will sup- ply the bees with plenty of storing room, and many times you will get two supers filled as quickly as one. Start selling new honey as soon as any frames are well filled and capped over. The Brood-Nest Just at this time of the year the brood-nest of the colony is a very im- portant factor to the beekeeper, and should be examined as soon as the first warm day comes. See what the conditions are, and give the attention needed. When bees are allowed to dwindle in the fall, during winter they cluster up in the supers where there may be a little honey. Sometimes they cluster in empty combs left in supers, carry honey up from below, and, as a nat- ural consequence, start rearing brood in the super, totally ignoring the brood- chamber. Medium sized colonies will do this occasionally; the broodnest may be divided with part of the brood below and part above. In such cases the super containing the brood should be placed under the brood-chamber. The queen will then go above as soon as she gets very active; this super can be removed later. In cases where bees are run for ex- tracted honey solely, with full-depth frames in the supers, and where they have established their brood-nestabove, all the combs of brood thus occupied should be moved below or the bodies interchanged. Keep the queen below until she has the body of the hive filled with brood. She can be allowed to go above later if so desired. made. Lots of it was shipped over 500 miles, and it was packed in nice ship- ping-cases and carriers. It was retail- ing at less than I was offering mine at to jobbers. I held to my price and sold all I produced. Brother beekeeper, let us line up on this point of market. The Prevailing Prices of Honey Honey has not risen in price as it should along with other articles of ford. If such had been the case, bee- keeping would be on a much better financial basis today. No one is re- sponsible for this but the beekeeper. Now that the prices of bee-supplies have advanced so much, we should raise prices this coming season. I am in hopes the price will advance not less than 2 or 2}4 cents per pound. If there is some general understanding about prices among us, and especially those who are great producers, there will surely be a change in our favor. For with the lack of this understand- ing, we will not have uniform price. Let the slogan of better prices for our honey this season spread as far as pos- sible from beekeeper to beekeeper. As I traveled from city to city last season selling honey, I found nice comb honey that was sold and deliv- ered by the producer for less than 8 cents per section, and small shipments Losses to Beekeepers Through Floods It is with regret that we learned of so much loss to beekeepers in Texas from floods. Among those mentioned is Mr. Polk, of Belton, who not only lost his bees but his family as well. Mr. Scholl, of New Braunfels, lost heavily. Several of his apiaries, together with supplies, etc., were swept away by the water. I am sure all beekeepers join me in extending sympathv to all who have sustained losses. Editor Root,in com- menting, says : " When we read the telegraphic reports of the floods in Texas, we wondered how our bees on the Apalachicola river would fare, be- cause they are on platforms, but slightly above high water level. Fortunately, however, the floods did not visit that section." Fortunate it is for many of us that they did not, for there are many bees in this section similarly situated. The Texas flood should be an exam- ple for us. I have seen hundreds of colonies in the swamps of the Apala- chicola, supported by frail scaffolds, and barely above high water mark. Mr. R. W. Herlong, of Ft. White, Fla., some years ago located an apiary in a low district which was supposed to have been a pond at one time, al- though water had never been known to collect there to any extent. Some time after the bees were located a flood came, the pond was filled, and the bees were destroyed before they could be moved, although the hives, etc.. were intact when the water subsided. We can- not have our apiaries placed /oo safely Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. Altitude and the Alfalfa Honey Crop Is it possible that alfalfa in high alti- tudes does not yield nectar ? What is the cause of the poor yields of alfalfa ? — A Subscriber. There is no doubt that alfalfa yields less nectar at an altitude of 8000 feet than it does at 4000 to (5000 feet. The San Luis valley is an example of this. This valley lies at an altityde of 7000 to 8000 feet, I believe, and while alfalfa and sweet clover grow very well, the bee- keeping industry has never cut much of a figure there, although there are some bees kept. Another district comes to mind, and that is the upper Arkansas valley around Salida, Colo. Large fields of alfalfa are grown, but bees are not kept there by any one in a commercial way, as is true in the lower end of the valley, from Pueblo to the Kansas line. There is no evidence that I know of that would give ground for the belief that altitude has anything to do with it except as altitude affects the tempera- ture. The nights are often cold and frosty, and the days do not get so warm in the higher valleys and moun- tain parks as is the rule in the lower valleys. It may be set down almost as a rule that the West that depends upon alfalfa and sweet clover for surplus honey has its largest crops when the season is hottest with abundant water for irri- gation, and two to three good rains in July and August to put new life into the sweet clover growing beside the roads and in waste places inaccessible to irrigation water. I have had considerable experience 86 March, 191 1. 'jf^^L^i: American Vae Journal with failures of the honey crop from alfalfa and sweet clover. Sweet clover may be depended upon more than alfalfa. We are finding out more every year it has less enemies and will with- stand drouth better. Alfalfa seed crops and honey crops as well have been de- stroyed by thrips, very small insects that live upon the pollen and delicate parts of the flower. Some seasons they become so thick in the blossoms that they destroy the rei)roductive organs of the flower, and of course the flower can secrete no nectarwhen the delicate flower parts are being devastated by a hungry hord of 40 or 50 little critters called thrips. I have shaken 40 or 50 of these little mites from a single alfalfa blossom. The alfalfa at the time was in nearly full bloom, and still the bees were scarcely making a living, and could be easily induced to rob. A farmer living near the field where I found so many of the thrips, was try- ing to raise some seed from a special variety of alfalfa, and his endeavor failed, probably on account of the prevalence of the thrips. Grasshoppers, when numerous enough eat off the tender leaves and blos- soms, and some years cut down very materially the yield of alfalfa honey. Grasshoppers will not eat sweet clover until after most of the alfalfa within reach has been first consumed. Like cattle and horses they have been starved to it. There are probably a score of causes affecting the yield of alfalfa honey among which I might mention too much pasturage, winter and spring freezing, too much water or too little, the forming of a " water table " tj to 10 feet, more or less below the surface of the ground by irrigation farther up on higher ground. This has been given as the cause of the failure in alfalfa seed growing in the Arkansas valley. The alfalfa roots reach down to the water table, and the plants get too much water for seed production. Seed production seems to depend upon a withholding of moisture at the right time to stunt the growth and turn the the thoughts of the plant to reproduc- ing its kind before it dies of drouth. The causes producing abundant crops of seed also seem very favorable to honey production. When the seed crop is good the honey crop is good. When the honey crop is good the alfalfa seed crop may be good and it may not. I have mentioned spring freezing, and in my opinion there is nothing so disastrous to alfalfa honey secretion as a late spring freeze that freezes Mr. Oliver B. Finn, of Silt. Colo . Disinfecting a Hive-Body with a Blow Torch Mr. J. H. Gardner. County Apiary Inspector, standing. the young plant when it has attained a growth of a few inches to a foot. As to alfalfa plants exuding a sap or giving ol¥ a secretion similar to honey- dew, I never saw any of it, nor heard of it before. It would not be very difficult to find this out by observation if there ever is such a thing as alfalfa plants furnishing a honey-dew. Southern Beedom^ Conducted by I.ouis H. SciiOLi . New Braundls. Tex. Bees, Poultry, and Fruit I have always advocated specializa- tion in any line of work, when this can be done advantageously. I believe in applying it to beekeeping. Instead of keeping more bees only, as has been advocated for many years, I believe in keepiiij; better bees and keeping them better. But not every beekeeper is so favorably located as to put e.\tensive beekeeping into practice. Therefore it becomes necessary in such instances to combine something else with it in order that profitable employment may be provided. COMBINED WITH rOULTRY. Engaging in poultry raising as a lucrative business in addition to bee- keeping has been mentioned before by me. As a "hobby "this side-line has proved profitable enough, and from the experience I have had, better results and greater profits might have been obtained if a little more care and timely attention had been given the flocks. When considered as a business proposition this becomes absolutely necessary, as the fowls must pay re- turns on the investment. Too often beekeepers are insufficiently informed, and in many instances unpractical in their work with poultry. The construction of simple but ser- viceable poultry houses and other nec- essary appliances is too much over- looked. A very common mistake is March, 1914. that of investing too much in unneces- sarily expensive and cumbersome buildings in which to house sma tlocks of birds. The interest and profits on the investment cannot be obtained from the building and the equipment, but must come from the poultry kept. Instead of putting $:!() to $50 in a poul- try house, and $10 or $20 in chickens, I should reverse these figures, and invest in more and better poultry, and keep them in simple and cheaply constructed but serviceable houses. Especially ap plicable is this to the South. ITRE-BRED POULTRY BEST. Another mistake frequently made is that of trying to get good results with "scrub chickens." I do not believe in mongrels, especially in poultry. Take a look at a lot of chickens of all co' ors, some "spotted," "brindle," and "striped" ones, a few yellow, red, black, and white birds. Then place these besides a Hock of pure-bred fowls and notice the difference. Nothing appeals to me more than such a flock on a rich green lawn or a green range espe- cially provided. The owner of such not only takes greater pride in them, but gives them more care and attention and gets better results. The advan- tages of keeping pure-bred stock and being able to obtain larger profits for eggs and stock are so much greater that it is a wonder mongrel chickens are tolerated. .■VDD FRUIT ALSO. The combination is hardly complete unless fruit growing is included. The small beekeeper who cannot engage in extensive beekeeping should so locate that a combination of these three, bees, poultry, and fruit may be kept profit- ably. POULTRY IN THE ORCHARD. The scratching hen is the laying hen as a rule, and such a one is of untold value in the orchard. Thousands of destructive insect pests can be de- stroyed by keeping fowls in the or- chard. Besides, hen-house fertilizers are exceedingly valuable. They are scattered throughout the orchard while the birds have the range of the ground, and it is very little trouble to spread the hen-house cleanings in a proper manner also. When arranging the orchard and the poultry houses and runs, these should be so provided that the fowls may be excluded during the ripening of fruit. It is not wise to crowd too many birds into one house, and better re- sults may be obtained by having smaller colony houses located throughout the orchard, so that the entire number of fowls kept may be divided into small flocks. It is not really necessary to separate the flocks by fences, although it is better. Besides giving better re- sults this affords a better distribution of the birds over the orchard, and pre- vents the spreading of contagious dis- eases among all the fowls if an out- break should occur in any one of the flocks. In amedium-sized orchard the houses may be arranged close together near tlie center, with the poultry runs diverging from the central location. With the feed house in the center very Horsemiiit and wild bloom made the desert beautiful last summer, rain than was common. We had more little time is required to attend to the fowls properly. THEY DO NOT INTERFERE. The fact that poultry can be attended to early in the morning and in the evening with the proper equipment, and that the orchard requires attention only at certain times, leaves plenty of time to give the bees the best attention. When the beekeeper goes out to de- liver honey, he can take along some eggs and poultry, or fruit of some kind, and return home with just that much more cash "to jingle" and feel merry over. Conducted by J. L. Byer. Mt. Joy. Ontario. A Hard Cold Spell Up to Feb. :', this winter was milder than the average here, but since then we have had weather direct from the Xorth Pole. Monday, Feb. 8, it was zero; Tuesday, 8 degrees below; Wednesday, Hi below; Thursday, 25 be- low; Friday, 10 below; and this morn- ing, Saturday, 14th, zero. Every day we have a stiff wind besides. It is the coldest week I have ever experienced. These are the days that go hard with bees out-of-doors, especially if the "winter nest" is as large as some would have it. With a narrow rim of honey over the bees, stores become exhausted, the bees are unable to move the cluster, and they either die outright or gorge themselves with pol- len and die with dysentery later. There is very little snow around the hives, and I have been wishing they were covered entirely. The snow we have is covered with a hard crust; I could not shovel it around the hives or I would have done so. However, bees 88 \ ^m*^^ =€ March, 1914. American ^cc -Jonrnal j can stand wonderful extremes of tem- perature, and wherever they have abundance of good stores in the hive, I think they will winter all right unless the present arctic weather continues too long. But it is milder today, and a change is near, no doubt. The Iowa and New York Reports Those are splendid photographs on the cover page of the February issue, and are valuable from an educational standpoint. The depressed cappings are shown so clearly, and other gen- eral characteristics of American foul brood so apparent that a greenhorn should be able to diagnose foul brood if he has a text book and pictures like that. I think it is the best photograph of foul-brood combs I have seen, and any beekeeper who is not familiar with this disease should keep the picture handy for reference. I am indebted to some one for a copy of the annual report of the Iowa Foul Brood Inspector. These same photographs are shown there. Some time ago I also received a copy of " The Honey Bee," a bulletin issued by New York State, and edited by our friend W. D. Wright. It is a splendid work, the best in that line I have ever known to be issued by a State Depart- ment of Agriculture. Although some- what tardy in acknowledging this book- let, my thanks are none the less sincere. Answer to Dr. Miller On page 43 of the February issue, Dr. Miller seems to think that I infer that he has a better location for beekeeping than we have. No, Doctor, one year with another I do not think so, but every once in a while I notice that your honey flow will last for seven or eight weeks at a stretch, something I never knew here in Ontario from any one source. Clover rarely yields over four weeks in succession; in fact, in our immediate locality I never knew it to last that long. This past season was the longest in my experience, and it did not extend over that length of time, although in some sections of Ontario it did on account of more rain. Don't think foi a moment. Doctor, that I am at all envious, for next to myself I can think of no one I would sooner see get a bumper crop than yourself. As to the "woman in the case," I accept all you say with this amendment : Instead of narrowing it to a "full-blooded Scotchwoman," include " German Ca- nadians. Come to think of it, I know of a lot of women hustlers here in On- tario who are at least " ha'f of the game " in producingthe crops of honey, and for fear all have not German blood in their veins, I will insist that all "Canadians" be included when giving honor to the work done by the ladies. Changeable Weather in March March is the month that gives us many changes of weather. Some of these changes are not pleasant, but I doubt if any other month gives us more real pleasure — pleasure being derived from ant HI flit/ ion. Bees wintered out- doors generally have their first flights, and how interested we are in seeing their condition. The first birds arrive from the South, and the notes of the robin, the harbinger of spring, is sweeter than any music for months past The ice in the rivers breaks up, and the grass begins to show on sheltered banks facing south — all these signs tell us that summer is coming, remind- ing us of the promise that as long as the earth stands, seedtime and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail. Lit- tle real work is to be done in the api- ary in Ontario, and anticipation oc- cupies our minds more than at other seasons of the year. Some years the weather is warm enough to allow scraping of combs, etc., but, as a rule, we have to wait until April to work comfortably in unheated buildings. ting out boxes in the trees for the bees to go into. This indicates one of many things, careless beekeepers, abundance of wild bees in the rocks, etc., and other reasons that might be mentioned. What is the correct solution ? Why So Many Swarms? A subscriber from California states, on page 61, that he has in one season presumably caught 60 swarms by put- Wintering Out-of-doors In February notes I mentioned hav- ing received a letter from a friend in Ohio under date of Jan. 7, which stated that they had 30 inches of snow. At that time we had but a few inches, and up to the present time we have had only a light snow fall. Under date of Feb. 7, this same friend writes that the snow is all gone and the bees have been flying freely for a week; in fact, it was so warm that robbing was attempted. Under such conditions one wonders why cellar wintering should ever be thought of. Surely, it must be easy to winter outdoors where bees are certain of cleansing flights in midwinter. Or is there a possibility that the bees win- ter better outdoors in a locality where no days are warm enough for a mid- winter flight? Convention m> Proceedings o The Washington Meeting The beekeepers of Washington State held their 20th annual convention at North Yakima on Jan. 7 and 8. It was the best meeting in the history of the association in the following ways: Numbers, enthusiasm, educational points, and good fellowship. The en- thusiasm was at a high pitch all the time. Every paper and talk /e/i in- structive, and every one had a broth- erly feeling for every one else. Among the visitors from outside the State were Mr., Mrs., and Miss Espy, of Iowa. Mr. Espy gave a talk on short methods of curing foul brood, which was well received. Mrs. Espy spoke on the subject, "Why women should be beekeepers." Mr. Anson White told how he in- creased from 4 colonies to 29 and har- vested 730 pounds of extracted honey. He believes in leaving a large supply of winter stores. Mr. White and Leigh Freeman, editor of Northwest Farm and Home, are the only remaining char- ter members of our organization. All of the papers were full of whole- some instruction and created discus- sion, especially when the care of alfalfa and sweet clover was mentioned. In all, over 100 people attended. There were 80 at the banquet held the second day. The following offjcers were elected for 1914: E. E. Starkey, president; L. G. Simmons, vice-president; Gus. Sipp, treasurer; J. B. Ramage, secre- tary. The president, secretary, and C. W. Higgins were appointed Legislative Committee to draft a foul-brood law to be presented to the next legislature, and to urge the passage before the members. When the convention adjourned, the happiest binick of beekeepers separated that it has been my lot to be associated with. J. B. Ramage, Sec. North Yakima, Wash. Tennessee Beekeepers Meet The 8th annual meeting of the Ten- nessee Beekeepers' Association was held at Nashville on Jan. 30, 1914, Presi- dent J. M. Davis presiding. The presi- dent, in his opening address, urged in- creased energy in getting more mem- bers for the association, and suggested field meets during the summer to create added interest. Dr. J. S. Ward, of Nashville, read a paper by his brother, Mr. Porter C. Ward, on " General Farming and Bee- keeping Combined." Mr. Ward pro- duced 10,000 pounds of honey in con- nection with his farm work during 1913 with but little help except during extracting time. Mr. Ward's paper was followed by an address by Mr. L. F. Watkins on " Fancy Comb Honey in Spite of Foul Brood." Mr. T. J. Ayers and Sandy lillis discussed the subject of control of swarming. Dr. J. S. Ward gave a very interesting account of his experiences with foul brood as an inspector. He stated that it was surprising to note the number of colonies still kept in box-hives throughout the State. These, naturally, give but little surplus, and are the breeding place for foul brood. If the box-hive could be eliminated it would mean a great gain for bee- March, 1914. American "Bee JoornalJ 8b keeping, as it would not only help check the ravages of foul brood, but it would increase the output of honey on account of the added number of colo- nies in movable-frame hives. A great deal of discussion was pro- voked on the general subjects of " Wintering Bees " and the " Market- ing of Honey." The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: T. J. Ayers, president ; W. B. Romine, vice-presi- dent; J. M. Buchanan, secretarv-treas- urer. Mr. J. S. Ward and J. M. Bu- chanan were elected delegates to the National meeting in St. Louis. South Dakota Convention Meets The convention of the South Dakota Beekeepers' Association was held at Vermilion Jan, 21, 1914, and was a most successful meeting. The following program was carried out, each number being freely dis- cussed by the members present, and good feeling prevailed : " Bees on the farm," by Geo. F. Webster, of Sioux Falls. " Experiences and expenses of mark- eting honey," by W. P. Southworth, of Sioux City. "Producing big crops of comb hon- ey," by F. A. Dahl, of Gayville. " Feeding sweet clover green and dry to stock." by T. M. Goddard. "Treating foul brood," by Dr. E. A. Morgan. "Does it pay to keep bees ?" by Pres. R. A. Morgan. '' Extracted honey," Wintering bees," " Split sections," " Chaff hives," etc., were discussed. It was decided to hold a picnic next summer at either Vermilion or Gay- ville ; time and place to be decided by the president and secretary. The next annual convention is to be at Vermilion early in December. By a unanimous vote, the present officers were re-elected. R. A. Morgan, of Vermilion, president, and L. A. Syverud, of Canton, secretary and treasurer. Notes From ^ Ab r oad Our Visit in Burgundy BY C. P. DAUANT. THE PART of our trip which I am about to describe has already been mentioned in the September num- ber. But there is plenty left to tell. We reached the home of the presi- the good taste and courtesy of our host, when we inform him that a life-size crayon portrait of my father had been installed in the bed-room which we were to occupy. All our needs and the least of our desires were anticipated with similar foresight and urbanity. It rained, the day following our ar- rival, and the projected bee excursions had to be postponed. We spent the time in discussing bee-culture. Before leaving home, I had prepared a mem- orandum book, with printed questions and blanks for the replies. This con- tained a hundred pages, and was neatly bound in leather. It proved very use- ful, but not so useful as I could have made it, had I known beforehand the possible result of my investigations. For instance, I had wished to enquire into the advisability of making worker comb foundation with larger cells than are now made, because one of the French writers has for some years strenuously maintained that the natural comb of the worker bee is larger than commonly asserted, and that still larger cells could be made; that the bees produced in those larger cells are of larger size. I enquired into this question wherever I went, thinking that there might be something of value in it. The result was entirely negative. All that my enquiries secured was evi- dence that there is irregularity in the cells of the honey-bee, which we al- ready knew, and that larger cells have little or no influence on the size of the workers. In some instances where cells are too far in excess of the worker size, drone eggs are laid in them. The standard worker cells have been variously estimated at 854, 838 (which is the figure arrived at by Mr. Langstroth) down to 73(3, to the square decimeter. We will refer again to this question later, for I obtained a number of expressions of opinion. Our host was prompt in saying that this matter had no importance, since even if larger bees could be produced, they would re- quire more room, the number of them would therefore be less and the crop result the same. We spent the time between showers in the fine park of which we give ad- ditional views in this number. They are all the work of our host himself, who is a splendid amateur photog- rapher. We gathered mushrooms by the basketful, edible mushrooms which are very plentiful. We also gathered snails. We had never tasted of snails, and were rather prejudiced. But those shell snails are not any worse looking than oysters. They are eaten roasted in the shell, with a nice dressing and taste very good. The following two days were spent visiting apiaries by the dozen. Get- ting up at 5 o'clock in the morning we went to Beaune, 30 miles away, in a spring wagon similar to the English dog-cart. They make those vehicles Mr. Champion, of France. dent of the Burgundy Beekeepers' As- sociation, Mr. Champion, on July 23, just one month after leaving home. .\ most hearty reception was awaiting us. The reader may have a slight- idea of On the Banks of the Saone at Gergy. France. 90 American 'See JonrnaT| An Experimental Apiary at Gergy. France. altogether too heavy for the fine roads of Europe. Our light buggies, with wheels made of hickory wood, would create a sensation, for nothing as light is seen anywhere. The traveling carts of the peasants could carry a ton or more without breaking down, and do not wear out as our light rigs do. But what a waste of energy and horse flesh in drawing those heavy vehicles over those magnificent roads! Burgundy is beautiful. Every road is lined with poplars or elms, well trimmed and kept under control. Rape, clover, the silver-leaf linden abound. The woods are full of flowers. Every forest is divided into a certain number of areas, and each is cut down in turn, retaining the finest trees for further growth. No cattle are allowed to range in the young timber. The re- sult is a very thick growth of trees which permits the harboring of game. For that reason the wild boar is still to be found, just as it was in the time of Walter Scott's heroes. I was as- tonished to find that our host, who is 68 years old and weighs 240 pounds, was still an active hunter and fisher- man. He gave us a sample of what he could do by taking us to the Saone river and there, from a little row-boat such as we have on the Mississippi, throwing a large " cast net " from his shoulder, while standing up at the stern of the boat. He caught a fine fry of gudgeons and a few American sunfishes which have lately been raised in French waters. During the trip to Beaune, with our host, we saw the silver-leaf linden in full bloom. It is much later than our Illinois lindens, but this spot is at the 47th degree while our central Illinois is at the 40th. Their hillsides are mostly in vineyards, and were it not for the pastures and meadows, there would be but little honey production in the mountain portions. Up the hills we went, among the vineyards, till we reached the park and castle of Mandelot, the property of an aged retired merchant, Mr. Bouchard. While the old gentleman himself es- corted Mrs. Dadant to the flower and vegetable gardens and to the hothouse, we visited the apiarv from which the manager was extracting honey. They use the DeLayens hive ; what we would call here a "long-idea" hive. It con- tains but a single story, with from 20 to 30 frames about 12 by 13 inches. They prefer this system on account of its simplicity. They have no supers. The honey is all extracted. It is re- tailed in tin pails and small earthen jars holding a kilogram or more. The kilogram is 2.2 pounds. We opened a 30-frame hive, every comb of which was full. The bees were mainly hybrids. A magnificent lunch was served to us in the dining-room of the castle, from the products of the farm ; milk, cream, cheese, butter, honey of course, fruits of every sort in spite of the short crop, and the inevitable and palatable champagne wine, with enormous home- baked cakes, served on a table ('< feet in width. At Savigny, on the other side of the mountain, we found more bees, and as hearty a reception. Mr. Vallot, located at this spot, is a manufacturer of bee- hives on a small scale. His apiary, on a steep hillside, is among the vines. Often the vines are trained on single stakes and rarely arranged in rows, for cultivation. Nearly all the tilling is done with the hoe or mattock. There does not appear to be any desire to save hand labor. It would take too long to tell of all the apiaries which we visited during those two days. We have already spoken, in our September number, page 2!)5, of our visit to Dracy and Chalon. We were feasted everywhere, rather too much. We had breakfast before starting at 5 o'clock, a lunch at 10, dinner at 1, another lunch at 5, and supper at our return at 8 p.m. Five meals, all but the first and last in differ- ent places ! We were " going some." During all this time the weather was cool, so cool that Mrs. Champion loaned some furs to my wife, to ride in the early morning. Furs in July! The air was bracing, the view beautiful. Those winding, smooth, white roads are lined with tall poplars. The little rivulets, flowing towards the larger Saone, among the fields, are regularly shaded with willows. The small fields, parceled out, all over France, like a lot of pocket handkerchiefs spread in the sun, are of various shades, from the deep green of the potato field, through the golden of the ripening wheat to the red of blooming clover, and the white of the buckwheat. And to still farther March, 1914. American "Bee JonrnalJ remove the monotony, here and there is a summer-fallowed land, or a rare neglected spot where the red poppy and the blue centaurea spread their contrasting colors. But I am lingering too long. We must hasten to other scenes. Our next trip will run us clear into Switzerland, by way of Lyon and Albertville. On the 29th, we took the train again. We passed down the Saone, through Ville- franche, the home of the famous Verniorel, who invented the sprayer and nozzle known to horticulturists and vineyardists the world over. He has a large factory there. An hour later we were in Lyon, the silk center, and the metropolis of the Rhone valley. 33 ^^ /^' W 1 Sr j^ "is"^ llQ p^r t i^ r fc^ m ■|^ i0t fMM^ 1 lrnii'^"'ti'iittfii 'S^jF^Si 1 W^m B""^*^ ^Se »^^H ■ 1 ^^^j^^^ A'^JMMgitwBB 1 1 ^'vv .- C>H 1^^ .'\NOTiiER Experimental Apiary at Gergv. Comb Honey by Parcel Post BY ALLEN LATHAM. IT IS PERFECTLY feasible to send small shipments of comb honey by parcel post, if the limited experi- ence of the writer is reliable. As with eggs, the article must be per- fect and a special method of packing followed. To be sure, I have sent only a dozen or so of packages of comb honey through the mails, but I have yet to hear of one of them being in- jured e>i route. Two styles of packages have been tried. At first the sections were packed in tin pails with excelsior. This is easy but rather expensive. Only three sections can be put into a 5-quart pail. I have to charge ^lA)" besides the pos- tage on such a package. Then single sections in smaller pails were tried. Postage on such in 1st and 2d zones was G cents. These were sent for 40 cents including postage. Seeking a cheaper package I tried pillowing a section with excelsior. This method appears to work excellently, and a sec- tion thus packed will fall to the floor from a table without injury. From 1 to 2 inches of excelsior is put all about the section and the whole wrapped securely in strong paper. Sections to be sent by mail should be chosen with care and prepared in a special way. No section which is not solidly filled with honey should be chosen. Those with rows of sealed cells next the wood are best. The sec- tion should first be wrapped in a good quality of paraffin paper, then slipped into a carton. The carton is then wrapped in a good quality of paper, care being used that in case of break- age no loose joints be left for escape of honey. A bed of excelsior is prepared about 10 inches in diameter, the section laid upon this and then covered with a similar blanket or bed of excelsior. Strings are then tied about the excel- sior to hold it in shape while it is wrapped. One should not trust such a package with carelessly tied and in- sufficient string. String this package with at least two windings each way, one winding a little way in from each corner. Bind all windings together, and then if the paper gets torn the package will not become disintegrated. This method of wrapping calls for a charge of 10 cents per section, involv- ing labor chiefly. As most of such sections are sent out by the purchaser to a friend, either as a Christmas oflfer- ing or sweet gift, the cost, 40 cents, postpaid, is not prohibitive. Not more than four or five sections should be sent together by mail. The increased weight causes more disatrous results if the package receives rough handling. If one wishes to send more than four sections, he will do well to send such by express. One of the best ways to send by express is to pack sec- tions in a box in excelsior and tie a cloth or rope handle to the box. I have also tacked to the bottom of a heavy shipment shock absorbers made of burlap and excelsior. But if one is to ship more than two dozen sections, he will find that a barrel is the ideal pack- age. The barrel receives a different sort of handling from the box. I have always had success shipping honey in barrels, even without excelsior beyond a layer at the bottom of the barrel. I have shipped as high as 180 sections in one barrel by express and over 200 by freight. All the suggestions in this article have to do with shipping sections with- out the use of shipping-cases. If one is to ship the regular cases he had best use the well-known and well-tried methods now in vogue. My own trade is largely to the consumer, and for such there is absolutely no need of the regu- lar shipping-case. Norwichtown, Conn. "A Season's Work" BY F. \V. HALL. {Read lit the Iowa Beekeepers meetins. ; I WISH to give you a "season's" trip through my bee-yard and get you back in time to take the eve- ning train home. I will have to hasten and stop only at the impor- tant points of interest. Taking the bees out of the cellar may seem a very commonplace affair, but in reality it is an important proceeding. I have about 400 colonies in six yards. Each yard has a wintering cellar over which there is a bee-tight building in which the ex- tracting is done, and in which the su- pers are stored when not in use. When the time comes to get the bees on the summer stands, with the help of another man I spread four or five thicknesses of newspaper on the quilt and place the cover over the papers, stuff the entrance with fine blue grass or an entrance closer, except a small space, and with two hives on a "stretcher" or "carry-call," it is but a short time until we have them all on the summer stands. As we place them on the stands, if they appear too light or need any other attention, we place a mark or stick of some kind on the cover. .After all are out, those having been marked with a stick on the covers are given a comb of honey from the honey-house, or adjusted according to their needs, when we are ready to drive to the next yard. A few days later, when the weather becomes suitable, all are examined for queens and fixed according to what seems to be best for them ; not forget- ting to keep close watch for any sign of disease, sticking a small peg painted red into the ground at the /f/V siWe of lite entrance, where we find suspicious March, 1914. American liee Joarnal cases, and /« />-»«/ o/ llu- U-ft sidv for those lound diseased. It treated, 1 move the peg to the cviiter of the en- trance, and It altera week or so they show no sign of disease, move the peg to the iiffJit of the entrance and add one peg for each examination made thereafter until fall. Then if no dis- ease shows, we remove all pegs. Previous to the honey How (clover) I keep going the rounds of the yard looking tor their needs, spreading their brood-nests as their condition and the condition of the weather will permit, adding super room as needed from time to tune, and equalizing by the exchange of brood-frames until about 18 or Hu days before the expected end of the honey flow. By this time most of the colonies are fairly "boiling over" with bees, and all drone-cells are filled with larv^. Some of the most forward colonies are building queen-cells, and now it is time to begin the dethroning operation. With a boy to handle the smoker, and a man to help look for the queens, we start in a yard, killing all the queens that are two years old, and all the others ex- cept what are needed to fill hives empty from winter loss or to increase if more are wanted. Perhaps a colony may be in such condition that it may run through the season with little chance of swarming. This one is given more room if needed and passed by. With this system of handling the swarming problem, it is necessary to have some easy method of record to keep an account of what has been done from time to time in the yards. Book records do not appeal to me, and for that reason I use the following: I secure three wood pegs for each hive. They are about 5 inches in length, and are sharpened at one end. As we kill the queens, if we find one that we do not wish to kill, we stick one, two or three pegs on the le/'t side of the hive ; this means a laying queen. One peg means a fair queen, two pegs a good queen, and three pegs a choice one. The last are usually used for breeders if needed for that purpose. If the queen is killed, one, two or three are stuck ic/^/wrf the hive to designate the standing of the queen killed. Ten days later, at the time of cutting the cells, leaving a grafted cell or one of its own hive, one peg is stuck in the ground at the ri^r/,/ of the hive, this means a cell. A week or ten days later they are examined for queen or eggs. It only a queen is found, two pegs are stuck at the n\f/il of the hive; if eggs are found, three pegs appear. These pegs remain in this position all summer, and the record is marked on the hive before they are removed to winter quarters. This record is made with pencil on side of the hives. By these records a glance at the hives in the yards enables me to tell the exact condition of each hive at any time. A yard of 75 or 80 colonies can be gone over by two men and a boy in a day; that is, they will have ample time to either kill queens or cut cells. I have been repeatedly asked how I find the queens so fast. This is ac- quired in almost the same manner as one learns to play the piano or to op- erate the typewriter. 1 can do neither of the latter, but 1 think I do know how to find queens. It requires somei natural ability, coupled with actual practice along that line of work. It would take too much time to go through' all of the details of locating a queen under the various conditions in which they will be found. |) The next thing is to go over the yards again in nine or ten days and cut all the cells but one in each colony; saving all of the choice cells from the best breeding queens and destroying all from the poorer stock. A number of nuclei are started from the surplus cells to supply any colony which may fail or have a poor grade queen. Whenever a comb that carries a good cell can be exchanged we do so ; other- wise a cut-off cell is slightly pinched between the combs just above some brood, or pinned on with a small stick or toothpick. Caution should be ex- ercised at the time the queens are killed, to see that there are no cells left that might hatch before the cell- cutting time. In other words, cut all cells as well as kill the queens so that all of the queens will be of the same age. We also see that there is no un- sealed brood in the hive at cell-cutting time, as cells might be started and the bees swarm when the grafted cell hatches. After thoroughly going over a yard in this VKay a man could not earn his board h,f. ing swarms. I have not han- dled swarms enough of late to keep in practice. I have been asked how it will work in the production of comb honey to kill the queens in this way. Why not ? There areas many bees for the harvest as there would have been had the old queen remained in the hive, since it takes 21 days to rear a worker; besides the brood is not there to re- quire feeding for a part of this time, and by the time the fall flow is on the queen has gotten acquainted with egg laying, and the colony goes into winter quarters with a hive full of young bees. Nothing else hindering, that means good wintering, and good wintering usually means a good crop. After the super combs get a good start of honey in them, I try to go over my yards and change the empties to the middle, and those with honey in them to the outside of the supers; this makes uniform combs at extracting time. At this round all the brood-nests are examined for queens or eggs and marked accordingly. A little about extracting and the ex- tracting machinery and I am done. When the honey is ripe and ready to extract, I load my outfit of tanks and 4-frame automatic extractor (Root's make), steam capping knife, and suffi- cient 0-gallon cans to hold the daj's work, about one ton. As the yards are out 0 or 8 miles, it is well toward 10 o'clock before we get there. Team off and turned to pasture, the machinery is taken inside the building, and in less than h minutes all is set ready to run. The honey is rushed into the honey- house until nearly noon, when 50 to GO supers of 9 to 10 frames are in the house. The fire is started under the capping-kiiife boiler, and while we eat our dinners the capping knife is get- ting hot. If it is too cold, and the honey is too thick to strain well, a two- wick oil-stove is set under the extractor. At 5 o'clock we start for home, and while the man gets the team 1 rush the lempty supers back on the hives. The |5-gallon cans have been carried out and loaded as fast as filled. The posi- tion of the machinery in all the houses f is the same. First, to the right of the door, in the corner of the room, is the extractor mounted on a low bench. A two by four, about 12 feet long, is shoved under a block and nailed to the end wall of the house and sprung down over the back of the extractor and locked under a block and nailed to the side wall. This holds the extractor solid, and is all the fastening needed. Five seconds will have it ready for use. Next, to the left, is the comb box, next the capping tub, the stove and steam boiler, and across the back end of the room are the honey and other tanks. An electric bell, which is worth its weight in gold, is used to tell us when the 5-gallon can is full of honey. This arrangement is simple, and is made ready for use in 10 seconds. It takes up scarcely any room in the house or in the wagon. The trip ar- rangement is a short board with a piece of No. 9 wire fastened across it, a short distance from one end; this is used to act as a fulcrum, and a brick is laid at the other end at a point that will balance a can of honey when it is almost full. When the can is almost full it tilts down and makes the electric connection, rings the bell for us to either change the cans or shut off the flow of honey. When the capping tub is full of cap- pings, I beat them up fine and empty them into a strainer cloth that is spread over another coarsely woven burlap cloth tied over the top of a can, and allowed to bag down enough to hold the tub of broken cappings. When the capping tub is full again, the four corners of the strainer cloth are caught and the " wad " is dumped into another can with a screen bottom. At the end of each day's work this is hauled home, and the next morning, after drawing off the accumulated honey at the bottom, it is dumped into another tank in the storage house at home and allowed to drain until it is time to melt the wax. My home stor- age house is a building 24x08, two stories high, and in it I have a great many contrivances that I would like to show you, but time will not permit. Colo, Iowa. I Propolisine BY .\. F. BONNEY. FOUND the attached article in a paper: USE OF BEE-GLUE IN .-^URGERV. " Propolis, or bee-glue, is a waxy or resinous substance collected by bees from the buds of certain trees, and ap- plied by them to the stopping of holes and crevices in their hives, strengthen- ing their cells, and to other purposes in bee architecture where it may be needed. "On distillation this material yields an unctuous brownish liquid, to which the name of propolisine has been given. "Propolisine has proven to be an admirable varnish for wounds, cover- March, 1914. American Hee Journal ing the well-cleansed surface with an effective soothing and protective coat- ing, and in France its great usefulness for general surgery and for battlefields has been shown by the experiments of Parvel and Mayer. " Used either alone or with a little vaseline, propolisine has given perfect isolation from bacterial infection, with the best conditions for speedy and un- interrupted healing." I cannot vouch for the truth of this statement, but can say that I have seen no mention of anything of the kind in medical magazines within a year. As a covering for wounds it might, as is claimed, give " isolation from bacterial infection," but unfortunately for the writer, American doctors do not "var- nish" wounds, depending upon medi- cated gauze instead. To my mind this belongs to the same class of literature as do the tales of wonderful cures of rheumatism by bee-stings, and carry- ing a horse chestnut in the left pants pocket. Buck Grove, Iowa. [We don't believe the carrying of a horse chestnut in one's pocket should be mentioned in the same breath and on a parity with the cure of rheuma- tism by bee-stings. No remedy on earth can cure everybody, for there are different degrees in diseases. If a dis- ease could ahvays be cured by treat- ment, everybody should be enabled to die of old age. Yet very few people will condemn doctors and their pre- scriptions as does Elbert Hubbard. Propolis is given credit for quite a few new uses, and we propose to translate an article on the subject which has lately appeared in a European bee- journal. Meanwhile we are willing to have such good-natured critics as Dr. Bonney call our attention to new sug- gestions even if they do so only to oppose them. — Editor.] Honey and Its Falsifications BY ALIN CAILLAS, Aericultural Ene'meer, Paris. THE bee's pure and naturally pro- duced honey presents itself to us under different aspects. In nor- mal conditions it granulates; that is to say, in a lapse of more or less time after its extraction, it hardens into a compact and crystalline mass. Instead of remaining liquid, it becomes more or less hard, according to its composition and the plants upon which it has been gathered. The granulation of honey is a true crystallization. Honey is what we call in chemistry a " super-saturated solu- tion,"containingan excess of dissolved material, so that the liquid cannot re- main indefinitely limpid at a stated temperature. However, the dissolved principles or constituents may remain in solution for a length of time more or less protracted, on account of atmos- pheric conditions or temperature, or the presence of substances which im- pede crystallization, such as dextrine. We then have to deal with liquid honey. On the other hand, when the temperature sinks, when the atmos- phere is dry, or when we add to the liquid honey a few crystals of granu- lated honey, the granulation is pro- duced slowly, in certain parts first, and gradually invades the entire mass. In natural condition, therefore, and without interference, honey may re- main liquid or become solid. But not all people have the same taste, and some prefer it in the one form, others in the other. We may, in a certain measure, liquefy honey or cause it to solidify. Nothing is easier than the liquefying of granulated honey. It is only neces- sary to submit it to a gentle heat, to melt the crystals of glucose and levu- lose, without however removing the Mr. Alin Caillas. of Paris. France. aroma and the " bouquet " of the honey treated. This operation should be called "pasteurisation," from the name of Pasteur, the great savant who point- ed to it first as a means of destroying microbe germs and securing a perfect and unlimited preservation of the pro- ducts thus treated. This is constantly done for milk, beer, and all sorts of fermentable liquids. But for honey, the tempera- ture cannot be raised beyond a certain point without danger. Not only this would give it a cooked flavor, but it would entirely evaporate and suppress the aroma which gives its sole value to the original product. As a rule, a " bain-marie " (water bath) over which the honey is placed, should not go be- yond 70 to 80 degrees C. (15,5 to 175 de- grees F.). Besides, the operation should not last longer than 20 to 30 minutes, and the bulk should be kept stirred. We can thus obtain a product more or less transparent which should be at once placed in closed vessels to keep it from contact with the air. Some honeys, however, granulate again quickly after having been prop- erly pasteurized. That is an annoy- ance, for the purchaser wonders why he finds in the same jar a solid part and a liquid part, and he may suspect fraud. Sonie dealers remedy this possible accident by mixing with the honey one percent of glycerine, which delays and often prevents further granulation. Dextrine has exactly the same influence, and that is why some honey-dews or plant-louse excretions, harvested on pine trees, oaks, lindens, etc., rarely granulate, for they contain as much as 10 percent of dextrine. It is more difficult to make the re- verse operation, or induce liquid honey to granulate. We have no prompt method to do this. In no manner can we change liquid honey to granulated honey in a few hours. But a low tem- perature, a dry place, and a mixture of honey already granulated favor speedy granulation. Granulated honey is usually sold in jars or in blocks cut into cubes and wrapped with paraffined paper. It keeps splendidly in this way. I will also cite a new package which consists in coni- cal, paraffined tubes, made of paste- board and very light. They are used for preserves as well as for honey, and profitably replace the glass containers. [Similar tubes are described on page 10 of the January number. — Editor.] When honey has been in the granu- lated condition for a long time, it often separates in two distinct layers, the lower solid, the upper liquid and trans- parent. The latter is composed almost entirely of levulose, which is very hygrometric and readily absorbs the moisture of the atmosphere. Let us say, before studying summarily the adulteration of honey, that its con- dition cannot give us a positive indi- cation as to fraud. Liquid or solid honey may be falsified. It is on more precise characteristics that we must rely in our researches. In spite of stringent laws, there are, in all countries, manufactured products which compete seriously with pure bees' honey, mixtures of sweet com- IN THE Laboratory OF Ali.in Caillas at Paris. Mr. Etienne Giraud at the right. Mr. Caillas in the center, tiie Kditor on the left. pounds with honey as well as manu- factured articles which contain no honey at all. There are in France, and especially in Germany, large factories which pro- duce artificial honey through a well- known chemical reaction. When a solution of cane sugar or be'et sugar (C12H22O11) is heated with diluted acid American Hee Journal (tartaric acid), a reduction is obtained called inversion, and the result is /«-, verted sugar, composed of two sugars differing from cane sugar: f,'lucose and lei'iiiuse (Ch H12O6 ). This artificial honey is therefore made entirely of inverted sugar, and its manufacture has been so perfected that it is difficult, even for a well-in- formed chemist, to find the difference from pure honey, except tlirough spe- cial chemical reactions. Another preparation is made of a mixture of pure honey with sweet sub- stances, such as the glucose syrup of commerce (crystal syrup, corn syrup) or inverted sugar above described. This may contain 10 to 50 percent of pure honey. These products are currently sold in commerce, and the sales are authorized by law if the goods are properly labeled. Unfortunately, in the hope of a consid- erable profit, some makers do not hesi- tate to label those mixtures " pure honey," and it is easy to appreciate the great damage done to honest honey producers. I have often had the task of making chemical e.xperiments, as official chemist of the " Societe Cen- trale D'Apiculture," and of the"Syn- dicat de Defense de I'Apiculture Fran- caise." These tests are very delicate and require great attention, but with a little practice one succeeds in uncov- ering the fraud. Another class of adulteration which is rarely found is produced either vol- untarily or involuntarily by the api- arist by feeding sugar syrup to the bees. The analysis of this product is ex- tremely difficult. Luckily this sort of adulteration is not sufiiciently profit- able to be much practiced. When Mr. C. P. Dadant called at my laboratory for the second time on Oct. 8 last, I had the pleasure of making be- fore him several reactions of honey, to establish the difference between this and adulterated goods. Although there is perhaps less fraud in the United States than in Europe, we have thought that it would be interesting for the readers of the American Bee Journal to make simple acquaintance with the chemistry of honey. We say in French: " Cn homme avcrti en vaut deux": or in English, in shorter words, " For- warned, forearmed." I will show, in my next contribution, the methods now in use to make the most simple trials of honey adultera- tion. Meanwhile permit me to state that I should be very glad and thankful to receive, from American beekeepers, by parcel post, samples of honey of their crops. I would gladly send them in return copies of the tracts which I have published. My address is: :i3, Rue Du Docteur Blai:che, Paris, France. The Ontario Honey Crop and Prices BY R. F. IIOI.TERMANN. I HAVE READ the timely remarks of J. L. Byer, under the heading of "Canadian Beedom," and an item under the New York State Bee- keepers' convention report by F. Greiner, in which Mr. S. D. House is reported as stating "that in Canada they had successfully settled the ques- tion as to " setting and maintaining the price of honey." I am in entire accord with Mr. Byer's statement that " a curtailment of pro- duction should be the slogan rather than efforts to produce more honey." I have seen for quite a time what matters were heading up to — a crash. Bee- keepers' associations have allowed themselves to be tools for the produc- tion of more beekeepers, individuals have allowed their best reports to be used to illustrate what profits could be made from beekeeping and — I speak advisedly — individuals have given out untrue reports of their profits from bees, the education and training a bee- keeper needs have been minimized, and the gross returns and net profits were very closely related. I have undertaken in the Canadian press, to hoist danger signals, but they have gone unheeded. It is by no means the first time that I have pointed out mistakes in connec- tion with the industry, and I have been ignored for a time, then the path I had pointed out had to be followed, and the same is true again. They laugh best who laugh last, is an axiom well worth remembering. I said that I could stand present developments just as long as the rest, and I did. At present there is a large quantity of honey in Canada unsold. The West has carloads and carloads of honey which has been shipped to it, unsold. The Ontario Beekeepers' Association which undertook to sell beekeepers' honey, sold a few carloads. By what line of justice and equity some of the beekeepers' honey was disposed of, and others had theirs left on their hands I know not, but the great ma- jority either have their honey still on their hands or had to dispose of it themselves as best they could. A man called at my house recently who sold half of his honey, some 11,000 pounds, at a cent less per pound than the price set by the association, and was lectured for so doing, and told he had just thrown away a cent a pound on that portion of his crop. He could then not even sell it at the cent less which he had refused on the advice given him. I could give more such illustrations. The fact is that with a very light honey crop reported by the association for eastern Ontario and Quebec, there has been an over produc- tion. Hard times have reduced the pur- chasing power of the people, and honey sales have decreased. The Ontario association seeing that it cannot handle the honey crop has dumped that responsibility on county associations; in other words, it has brought to birth a child (a large honey crop) and laid it at the dooi of another house to be taken care of and brought up, county associations selling it. As to Mr. House's statement that in Canada we have solved the problem of setting and maintaining the price of honey, let me tell him no, we have not. The comb honey markets have gone all to pieces. Instead of getting $3.00 a case for comb honey as recommended, it has gone down as low as $1.75 per dozen for No. 1 comb honey, and is not bought at that price, and in the West I have some 1500 dozen fancy and No. 1 mixed comb honey which I am trying to sell at ,$2.40 a dozen to the retailer, and have been for (i weeks, and that price is not making much im- pression on the dealer and consumer. The Honey Committee has no doubt helped to make prices stable, but, after all, what made the prices has been the demand for the goods and the limited supply; in other words, what makes prices is " supply and demand." The demand has fallen off, and the price fixed by the committee has not been maintained. Some may quote prices from various papers. Let me say such things do not fool me — I have been at the game too long to be blinded. The dealers are filled up with stock; they are not pre- pared to sacrifice, and they give these prices. But let the beekeeper try and sell at anything like such prices and he will soon find out the value of such quotations. In fixing the price of honey much more has to be considered than the honey crop ; perhaps some important items have not received the considera- tion they merit. There is one thing quite sure, andthat is thatwith the way the honey market has gone of late; it leaves matters in a very bad shape for the opening of the market after the honey crop is harvested for 1914 — if we get any crop. Brantford, Ont. Encouraging Beginners BY THE OrTlMIST. SHALL WE ENCOURAGE begin- ners ? Certainly, why not ? Mr. Byer, in the American Bee Jour- nal for January, says we should not, because in any line there is Buch a thing as overproduction, and In Ontario at least honey production has reached this point. I wonder if Mr. Byer is not just at present making plans to increase his number of colo- nies in 1914 so that he can himself increase the amount of honey pro- duced? To my mind there might be two or three reasons why we sfiould not en- courage beginners besides the one which Mr. Byer has advanced. First, if the country is already overstocked with boes, then of course it would be useless to encourage more beekeep- ers and simply increase the number of colonies and correspondingly de- crease the production per colony. Secondl.v, beginners should not be encouraged if the business of beekeep- ing docs not pay. In other words if the beginner cannot have the assur- ance that his bees if properly man- | aged will give returns which will justify time and money expended, then he should under no condition be encouraged to embark in the busi- ness. A third reason which might bo ad- vanced would bo that the danger from spread ( f beo diseases would be greatened by the addition of beginners to the beekeeping ranks. The first of these three reasons I think we can dismiss at once, as I do not think that any one will claim March. 1914. American l^ee Journal that the country is overstocked ex- cept in some isolated spots. 1 doubt very much if we can lay much stress on the unprofitableness of beekeeping when the industry is carried on with any degree of desire to succeed on the part of the bee- keeper. At least it should pay a fair interest on investment besides paying for labor and other e-xpenses. I do not think that there is as much danger from the spread of di- seases at the hands of the beginner as there is at the hands of the older, but shiftless, beekeeper: the one who never reads a bee book or bee paper but who "knows all about robbin' gums." The beginner is apt to read thoroughly all he can get on the in- dustry and be ready for the emerg- ency, should it present itself. Let us now turn to the argument advanced by Mr. Byer that "there is an overproduction of honey." In the first place I do not think that the so- called i>ro. and 7. One reason for saying I don't know to all these questions is that one of the factors in each of the problems is so variable as to prevent a definite answer There are good goldens and poor goldens, and different grades from good to poor. Neither is it certain that I could answer sat- isfactorily if the varying factor were elimi- nated. In the matter of color, however. I should not expect uniformity, but part of the progeny following one parent, part fol- lowing the other parent, with perhaps inter- mediate shades, 8 No, I have so good authority as Doolittle and Dr. Phillips for saying it is not a fact, the latter saying that blisters are raised on the outer paint through moisture that has passed through theinner propolizedsurface. Transferring from Box-Hitfes to Modern Hives When is the right time to transfer bees from box-hives to modern hives, and how ? Kentui. KV. Answers —Wait until the bees swarm (in your locality they are likely to swarm in May . then hive the swarm in an up-to-date hive and set it on the old stand, setting the old hive close beside it. A week later move the old hive to the opposite side of the swarm, and then two weeks later still, or three weeks from the time of swarming, when all the worker-brood will be hatched out. break up the old hive and add its bees to the swarm. Then you can melt up the old combs. ^ Reinforced Foundation 1. Have you tried dipping cloth into wax and passing it through a foundation mill ? If so. what kind of cloth, color, and prepara- tion ? 2. Will bees accept that kind of founda- tion ? 3. Do you think the color of the cloth will make any difference ? 4. Will tin cloth injure the rollers of the millr' 5. If the cloth will work, would it not do without wire or splints ? Washington, Answers,— I. The nearest I ever came to anything of the kind was before comb foun- dation was to be had, when I coated paper with wax and gave it to the bees. Of course it was not put through a foundation mill, which, at that time, I had never heard of, 2. Yes, the bees built comb on my waxed paper, but it could be drone-comb as easily as worker, and if it had been put through a mill I suspect the bees would have torn it down. At any rate ,). Y. Detwiler afterward sent out samples of the same thing with tin- foil in the center and then run through a mill, and my bees tore it down. 3. I don't think color would make any dif- ference, but inati'rial might. 4. Yes. I would expect tin cloth, or wire cloth to injure a foundation-niill. To be sure, foundation has been made with wires running through it at intervals, but that is made on a special mill which makes the sep- tum of the foundation entirely Hat. ;. If you should succeed in getting foun- dation with wire cloth in it, or indeed any similar base, neither wires nor splints would be needed. But from what I know about the matter. I think you will only waste time in any such experiments. Preventing Swarming^Sour Honey--Honey-Dew 1. <-'an I prevent swariuing if I remove the queen after the colony has built up strong and let it rear another queen ? 2 What color is the Caucasian bee if the stock is pure? 3. If a queen is introduced in the spring, will the colony swarm the same season? 4 How does it work to set an empty hive on the old stand, say with tive frames with empty combs, the queen to be introduced so the bees can get at her to let her out, and let the old bees go into the new hive; then after the bees accept her remove the queen in the old hive, and about eight days later return the bees to the new hive on the old stand.' 5. How do Cyprian bees stand our winters? b. What makes honey sour in the hive when the flow is at its best and no honey- dew? This season I ran my bees for comb honey; in some of the hives honey soured before it was capped 7. Why is it that in honey-dew seasons some colonies gather more honey-dew than others ? Such has been my experience. 8 Do certain races gather less honey-dew than others ' I have been told so ? Illinois. Answers— I. You can hardly find a surer way to make them swarm, for when the first young queen emerges a swarm will issue with her. You can prevent this, however, if you kill all cells but one, about a week after removing the queen. There is a little dan- ger, however, that you may not leave one of the best cells-you may even leave a cell containing a dead larva, A safer way is to leave all the cells; then a week after re- moving the queen put your ear to the hive each evening until you hear the young queens piping. When you hear this go to the hive the next morning and kill i;//queen- cells, leavingthe youngqueen that is already at large. 2. About the same color as the common black bee 3. Generally yes. But if three require- ments are fulfilled, you may feel pretty safe against swarming: the queen must be a young queen of the same season; she must not be introduced until swarming time; and there must be about lo days between the time the old queen stops laying and the new one begins. 4. I don't believe there would be any gain over introducing the queen direct without so much trouble. 5. I think about the same as Italians. (). I don't know. I know it sometimes oc- curs, and I suppose it is something in the character of the honey itself. 7. I don't know. Possibly there is a differ- ence in colonies as to their preference for different sources One year I had one or more colonies that gathered honey of light color while the rest gathered buckwheat. It might be that they strongly preferred the lighter honey, or it might be that they just happened on the lighter honey in some par- ticular place. 8. I don't know. It is possible. Preventing Swarming When one of your strong colonies havinr two supers almost full, decides to build cells, how do you proceed to bring about contentment in the hive and restore the storing impulse ? Minnesota. Answer —You are supposing things that hardly occur. I wouldn't expect to find on a strong colony in a good How a couple of sutlers almost full and nothing else. March, 1914. American ^ee Journal T here would surely be an empty super un- der, and very likely another on top. Neither would I expect to res/err the storingimpulse. for I would expect it to go right along while cells were being built However, in general, when cellsarefirst found they are destroyed, and this may occur about once in lodays so long as no cells are found well advanced; but when found well advanced steps are taken to stop the laying of the queen for about 10 days, at the end of which time either a new oueen or theold one is allowed to begin laying. A full discussion of the matter in "Fifty Years Among the Bees" would no doubt interest you. Swarming Caused by Crowding I have noticed that the colony that keeps its brood-nest free from honey is not apt to swarm. Is this in line with your observa- tions ? Missouri Answer.— I don't know; but you may be right. Certainly we know that when the queen is crowded for room it tends toward swarming. The more honey crowds into, or encroaches upon, the broodnest. the less room the queen has for laying, and, it would seem not unreasonable to argue, the greater inclination to swarming. Brood Above Excluder 1. Is there any danger of swarming when the brood from a shaken swarm, with plenty of bees to take care of it. is put in a new location and allowed to rear a queen of its own ? 2. A shaken swarm is made by shaking the bees on ten full sheets of foundation, and the brood set on top with a queen-excluder between the two hive-bodies. If the brood is left two or threedays. will it hold the bees as well as when one frame of brood is left with the bees below ? 3. When one frame of brood is put in with a shaken swarm should it be left, or would it be better to take it out in about three days to lessen the danger of swarming ? I would make the manipulations as de- scribed above, about the first of June or swarming time. Illinois. Answers. — i. There would be consider- able danger with a large body of brood if no queen-cells were present at the time of operating, for by the time the young queen — or rather young queens -would mature, the colony might easily be strong enough to send out a swarm with the queen first emerging. But if queen-cells were well advanced at the time of operating, the danger would be very remote, for at the time of the emer- gence of the first queen there would be few or no field-bees, and the young queen would be allowed to destroy her rivals. 2. I think it would hold them just as well. 3. The general experience seems to be that it is better to take it out. Using Splints I would like to ask your opinion, after reading your book, entitled " Fifty Years Among the Bees " On page 83 you give the dimensions of your frames, and further on you mention splints, which 1 think I would like. How would it do to make the bottom- bar the same thickness as the top-bar, and instead of having two grooves, one for foun- dation and one for wedge, have only one grove in each bar; then by having a board nearly the same size as inside of frame, and thick enough to come to bottom of grooves. the foundation by buckling a trifie could be made to enter grooves .After boiling the splints in wax. buckle them into place the same as foundation. Then use hot wax alongthe top and bottom bar to fasten it in. This would reduce the size of frame, but with the Hoffman frames I find it hard to get the bees to build down to the bottom- bar as they should, so lose some space there anyway. Washington. Answer.— Your plan will work all right. But you don't need to have any kerf in the bottom-bar. and then you won't need to liaveitas thick as the top-bar. Indeed, if you wax in the foundation, top and bottom, you will not need kerfs either place. I have some frames without the split bottom-bar. and it works all right. You may say you want the kerf to hold the splint. I never yet put a splint in a kerf, and see no need of it. Of course the top-bar must be thick, kerf or no kerf. Too Early to Predict for 1914? Is it too early to predict what the white clover crop will amount to next season ? It seems to me that it looks thicker now than I ever saw it at this season of the year. We have a soacre Held near our house that was sown to blue grass two years ago. There is now a good sprinkling of young blue grass, but as a whole the field is almost a perfect sod of white clover. I also notice it is pretty thick in old blue-grass pastures. Do you think this looks good for a harvest next season or is it too early to count ? Kentucky. Answer.— You never can tell in advance just what clover will do. Sometimes it blooms abundantly and yet yields no honey. But when you see the ground well covered with the plants this time of year you may count the chances at least 3 to i that it will live through and give you a crop unless a bad drouth occurs. Good or Bad Location ? 1. In order to combine the heat can I make and build into two strong colonies a twin nucleus with laying queens by placing one brood-chamber on top of another with wire screen between ? 2. Where shall I look for royal jelly ? How shall I know it when I see it? Is it ever stored in brood-combs? 3. I live in a timbered region where the country is about one-fourth cleared; the cleared land is covered with blackberries, asters, goldenrod. and a little white clover; nearly every farm has a small orchard. The forests are composed of a small growth of linden, sourwood. poplar, chestnut, black gum. hard and soft maple, alder, a little willow, and some wild flowers. What kind of a location do you think 1 have ? 4. How many colonies can I handle in one apiary ? 5. Should I run for comb or extracted honey ? 6. If I run for chunk comb honey what va- riety or cross of bees should I use ? ■Virginia. Answers.— I. Yes, but you may like it better to have the two nuclei side by side in the same hive, with a thin division-board in the center. 2. You will never find royal jelly in the hive until the bees start queen-cells; then you can't miss finding it in these cells: a milky looking paste. 3. I should think bees might do well there. 4. Perhaps 75 to 100 colonies. 5. I can't tell you; depends upon your market; like enough extracted. 6. You will be pretty safe to choose Ital- ians for any kind of honey. Sweet Clover — Artificial Pollen 1. How would it work to give the mother colony a laying queen as soon as it has cast a prime swarm; remove all queen-cells and move them to a new location in the same yard. 2. Recently it was stated in one of the journals that a crop of hay and a crop of honey could be secured from a field of sweet clover in one year. Now that is wrong, a crop of honey and a crop of seed can be gotten in one year. But in order to make good hay it must be cut sooner than if it was allowed to grow to secure a crop of honey out of it. 3. Why is it that in your telling the use of rye flour and pea meal for artificial pollen, you never mention wheat flour. Why is wheat flour never mentioned or recom- mended ? 4. Did you use artifical pollen for your bees in the spring of 1013 ? NEBRASKA. Answers.— I. I suppose you mean to set the swarm on the old stand; it would work all right. 2. Yes; but why not cut for hay before blooming? That would make the honey crop later; and this would be of greater value in a white-clover region where sweet clover is likely to bloom during white clover bloom. Cutting the sweet clover early would allow it to bloom after white clover was done, thus prolonging the season. 3. It is probably a case of blindly follow- ing tradition. My guess would be that wheat is as good as rye; but I never tried either. I know that ground corn and oats does well. 4. No. Swarm on Stand of Parent Colony 1. Will it prevent the mother colony from swarming again it the prime swarm is put on the stand of the old colony removed to another stand without taking the super off ? 2. How long must a colony be left queen- less before introducing a queen ! 3. How is the queen put in with the new colony ? 4. Will bees go up into the supers for honey if they ran out of honey below when in the cellar for winter? 5. When returning an after-swarm to an old colony is it necessary to kill the queen ? Minnesota- Answers.— I. Sometimes, and sometimes not. But the following plan may be counted on in nearly all cases: Set the prime swarm on the old stand with the old hive close be- side it, facing the same way; a week later move the old hive to a new stand lo feet or more away. The super or supers should be taken from the old hive and given to the swarm as soon as the queen has made a good start at laying, say within about three days. 2. Practice differs: some give the new queen at the same time the old one is re- moved and some wait three or four days. I have had success by giving the queen at time of removing the old One. but not al- lowing the bees to liberate her until three or four days later. 3. Generally in an introducing-cage. 4. Maybe, and maybe not. Unless pretty warm and the colony strong, likely not. 5. Not absolutely necessary; but if you pay no attention to the queens you may have to return the swarm several times. But if you destroy all the queen-cells left in the hive, once returning will answer. Increasing Where the Honey-Flow Comes in August On April 26. I received three ;2-pound packages of Italian bees with queens from Alabama. I put them in new hives with full sheets of foundation. When I packed them for winter one hive had the ten frames full of bees, honey and brood: the other two had nine frames each of brood, bees and honey. I am sure they will winter. They were bring- ing in pollen today (Dec. 13I. By Aug. i. 1014. I want ten full colonies. Tell me just how- to proceed and when to start. One honey- flow starts here in August. We have abun- dant white clover in the spring, but bees do not seem to store until August. Then the honey is from goldenrod and a yellow daisy growing in the swamps of our county. I was thinking of getting three more bodies and placing them over each colony about April 25 or May i with full sheets of founda- tion; that should prevent swarming in May. When the two bodies are full of bees then I could divide for increase by taking five frames of bees and brood from the upper body and placing them in a hive with five full sheets of foundation, and buying a queen for them; place the new hive where the old one stood, and remove the old one to a newstand and replace the five frames of brood and bees taken from it with five frames of foundation, and when they fill up do the same thing again. I put a super on one of my hives Sept. i, 100 American Hae Jonrnal March, 1914. ami tliebees would not KO up through the queen-excluder I had under it. Of course, the season was late, but I don't believe they would carry honey up throush that unless it was a very heavy flow. The next time I am KOini; to try the super without the excluder. Do you think the queen would t;o into the sections- Pennsylvania. Answer.- Uon't you think you're asking a Kood deal ? You want not only to increase from 3 to 10 colonies, but to have them /«// colonies by Auf. I in a place where there is no flow until August. Of course you can make up somewhat for the lack of a flow by feeding, but feeding never seems to be quite as good as the natural flow. There is a pos- sibility, however, that there is more of a How than you think earlier in the season. Even if not enough for a surplus, if there is just enough for the daily needs of the bees they may build up just as well as with a heavy How. Your idea of buying queens will make quite a difference. Your plan will be all right //' the bees do as you plan; that is. if they fill two stories full of bees, and then do it a second time. If you get lo full colonies by Aug. i. you ought to get a good deal more than one super from each colony, seeing that your harvest comes after that time. But if the colonies do not build up until later. leaving you without surplus, you ought not to complain bitterly. Instead of putting a second story over each colony, it may be better to put it under, for so early as May i an upper story might cool off the bees too much. Besides, bees nat- urally extend their brood downward rather than upward. If I understand aright, the new queen will be on the old stand, where all the older bees will be. She will be re- ceived more kindly if you put her in the other hive. I think it was the lack of the flow and the lateness of ihe season rather than the ex' cluder that kept the bees from going up into the super. But I never use an excluder un- der sections, and have very little trouble about the queen going up. Double-Walled Hives ■What do you think of double-walled hives for this locality? Bees cannot be Afintered here in cellars as the climate is too change- able. None of the old beekeepers here use double-walled hives. They say there is no need of extra expense, and bees do as well in lo-frame single-walled hives. Neither do they use any sort of winter cases, as they say that if anything of the kind is used it should be left on all the time, as in such a changeable climate no one could tell when to put it on or lake it off. Is the double-wall hive any advantage in //<'/ weatherif the hives areproperly shaded? Of course the cost of double-walled hives is much more than the single-walled, and also much more trouble to handle, but if the advantaiie of double-walled hives is greater, I would be willing to pay the extra cost and take the extra trouble. Southern Illinois. Answer.— As a a rule, it is wise to attach weight to theexperience of others in a given region, although something depends upon their intelligence. At any rate, no farther north than i8 degrees it is not at all likely that double-walled hives are advisable either for summer or winter. them into new hives about fruit-blossom time. Am I right ? 2. I bought 50 colonies for an out-yard, and will want several queens. Will you tell me the best or good way to manage an out-yard to prevent swarming as much as possible, and what is the most professional way to make divisions so as not to hurt the honey crop too much and yet have some increase ? 3. How many sections 4'»X4'4 will one pound of thin super foundation fill; full sheets ? 4. Do you advise full sheets to get better filled sections? Does it pay? 5. Do you advise spring feeding early to in- duce brood-rearing? b. Would you advise one-pound packages of bees rather than i. 2. 3 frame nucleus ? South Dakota. AvswERS. — I. As I understand it. you will drum the bees up into the new hive, and leave it three weeks over the old hive, an excluder between, then three weeks later still you will divide. That would make the division six weeks after the drumming, or. to put it the other way, you would drum six weeks before dividing, or six weeks before fruit bloom, since your plan to divide in fruit bloom. Six weeks before fruit bloom the weather will be unfavorable, there will be little or nothingfor the bees to gather; they will probably not be very strong yet. and if you drive them from their combs and ask them to draw out foundation you will probably knock things endways for the sea- son. Better wait until the bees have built up strong, even if you have to wait until after fruit is in bloom. Indeed, even if they are strong, it will be well to wait until after a very few days before fruit bloom, say four or five. Then drum your bees up into the new hive, and set the new hive under the old one. with excluder between. (Bees extend their brood-nest downward rather than up- ward.) Ten days after the drumming, take away t"he old hive, bees, brood, and all, and set it on a new stand. Then 11 days later, or 21 days after the drumming, drive the bees from the old hive into a new one furnished with full sheets of foundation. It may be the bees have reared a queen; if not you must give them one. 2. Perhaps the most popular way is to shake a swarm as soon as colonies first be- gin to swarm, which may be called anticipa- tory swarming. If you do not care for much increase, you can double up the brood- combs from two or more colonies 3. About ion. 4. Yes. indeed; I could hardly be hired to Transferring, Increase, Etc. I. I bought 8 colonies this last summer; 6 of them 1 will transfer in the spring into new hives. 1 will put a new hive with wired frames on top of the old stand, drive the bees into it and put an excluder between them, and leave them for 21 days, and drive the balance of the bees into the new hive, then I want to divide them. Then I figure that in three weeks from the time I make the change I can divide them. I will put use less. 5. I do not practice it; so could hardly ad- vise it. Harm may be done by feeding when too cold. If the bees have abundance of food— not merely enough but abundance— and have all the comb they can cover, what more can you ask ? There are places, how- ever, where early in the season, but after it is warm enough for bees to fly freely every day. there is so long a dearth of forage that the queen soon stops laying. In such a case it is important to feed every day. or every other day. enough to keep up laying. 6. The same number of bees will of course be worth more with frames of brood than without; but considering the expense of ex- pressage on combs, it is likely that a given amount of money put in bees without combs will be better than the same money put in nuclei. Wants Best Advice on Getting a Crop I put into winter quarters 21 colonies of bees; all in good shape as far as I could see. Those that 1 had any doubt about having plenty of stores to winter and carry them /.;/f in the spring. I fed. Almost all of them are in double-walled hives. 10 frames. .Metirly all have young queens. 1 have an additional protection around them; they are boxed wiih lumber, and covered so that no snow or rain gets on the hives; a space of d or 8 inches between the hives and protection boards; but it is not packed with anything. I have boards in front. 1 let them down when it is warm enough for them to fly. They had a flight three days last week. I saw someot my bees >4 mile from home. They flew -cry stroiis from each hive, like in summer time, and I carried out lots of dead bees; they "ap- peared '* to be in good condition. 1 can have $40 or S50 to put on them next summer, and 1 want to make them do the f,vi' A,-.v/ possible in the way of honey pro- duction. My pasture is principally white clover, a good amount of alsike and red clover. Sugar maples are abundant, as are apple and peach .trees, etc. There are not many bees here, and no disease. I would like some advice as to manage- ment in order to make the most out of them. I have two supers or more per hive. I use generous sized starters of foundalion in the sections, I will want to or 15 new hives, but not enough swarms to interfere with the honey crop. Ohio. Ansv\'er.— I have written out in full de- tail the very best advice I know- how to give to one who desires, as you do, to get the bees to do their level best, and you will find it all in the book that you have. "Fifty Years Among the Bees." By following the plans there laid down, last season I secured an Apiary of D. M. Bryant at Ethelfei.ts. 'Va.. Prepared for Winter. The hives are wrapped in newspapers and building paper. Maroh, 1914. 101 American Hee Journal average of 266 sections per colony. Then be sure to keeo tab of what each colony yields, so as 10 breed from the best afterward. There may be some question whether yon are warranted in departinc from the usual plan of having packing in winter; but if you have had previous success in that way, it may be all risht to keep on. Anyhow, a good llight in the last of January promises well for Kooil winterinsr. You want your bees to do the t'ivt /'rs/ in the way of honey production, and say you will want new hives for about so percent in- crease. You can't increase as much as that without interfering with the honey crop, un- less you are sure of a heavy late flow. Y'ou have two supers or more per hive with gen- erous starters in sections. Oh. you stingy fellow! Asking the bees to store a big lot. and then giving them so little room to'store it in. I wouldn't want less than (1 or 7 supers for each colony, all tilled ready to put on the hive. In the height of a good flow there will be on each of my hives a super at the bottom empty to half full, an empty one on top, and between these two from four to six supers pretty well tilled. 'With less I should lose honey. Instead of "generous starters." fill each section with foundation except Va to '+ inch space between top and bottom starters. Feed for Cellar— Full Crop and 100 Percent Increase 1. How would you prepare sugar syrup to feed in cellar, when it is absolutely neces- sary to feed in mid-winter to preserve from starvation - 2. How would you make artificial increase ol 100 percent in an apiary and at the same time secure full amount of honey crop from clover and basswood ? 3. Is there any advantage to have the en trance I'A inches deep and full width of ui\'a ? Canada hive .'Answers. -I. Just a plain syrup; 2 pints or pounds of water to 5 pints or pounds of sugar. Stir the sugar slowly into the hot water, and be very careful not to scorch it. But you might do better to make a plain candy and lay over the frames. 2. I don t know anyway to make increase without cutting down on the crop of honey unless it be in a place where there is a very heavy flow, and then any old way will do. 3. \'es; it gives chance for better ventila- tion in hot weather, aud also in winter if you winter in cellar. But you cannot have iH inches under bottom-bars in summer un- less you have some provision to prevent the bees building down. Improving Stock I. I have 10 colonies of common bees of poor stock that I wish to improve this com- ing season. All that I care for is their honey-gathering Qualities. There are peo- ple all about me that keep anywhere from 2 to 10 colonies of the same kind of bee in box- hives, and it would be almost impossible to buy them out and get them to stop keeping bees. I am thinking of putting an order with some reliable queen-breeder early in the season for two dozen Italian queens, and dividing my strongest colonies. If I rear my own queens; that is. send and get a breeder queen and rear queens from her. I would have nothing but hybrids; but may be they would be as good honey pro- ducers as tested queens? Now-, what is the best thing tor me to do ? If there is a better way to improve my bees than either of these I would like to have it. Our best honev-pro- ducing plants are clover, buckwheat and eoldenrod. Maryland. Answer. — It is true that in many if not most cases the lirst cross does as good work as the pure stock, but the next generation is likely to deteriorate. If you get 24 Italian queens, you'll be all right for a time, and then the bees will run down. Instead of getting the 24 all inonejyear you might do better to get 2 each year for 12 years, and breed from them. Then you would have pure drones each year, whereas if you get the 24 all in one year you might not have a pure drone in four or five years. Early Work With Bees 1. I have purchased a few boxes of black bees, i want to put them into new hives and requei-'U them in the spring. How early would you advise working with them ? 2. Would you requeen or hive them first .^ 3. Where can I get a first-class Italian queen free of disease ? North Carolina. Answers.— I. You can do a lot of mischief by beginning too early in the season to make any radical change in the condition of the bees. Don't think of transferring them into movable-frame hives until they are busy gathering nectar and in good condition to engage actively in the work of comb-build- ing. That will hardly be before the time of fruit-bloom. It may be still better to wait until they swarm, then hive the swarm in a modern hive, and three weeks later break up' theold hive, for at that time all worker- brood will be hatched out. The bees from the old hive may then be united with the sw-arm. or they may be kept as a separate colony and transferred into another hive. 2. It might be as well to requeen after the swarming or transferring. 3. In the proper season there are always found in this journal advertisements of those who have queens for sale, and these may be relied on as free from disease. A man who would send out a queen from diseased stock would steal. how far should eight quarts be reduced to make the best feed ? 4. Which smoker is better, a cold blast or hot blast ? New Hampshire. Ansvvers.~l Kxtracting saves the bees much labor in building comb, so it is gen- erally estimated that you can get about half more extracted than comb honey. So in deciding the question for yourself the ques- tion is whether you would rather have 100 pounds of comb honey or 150 pounds of ex- tracted. 2. No; if you want to save the combs it's the extractor or nothing. J. Yes; the bees will take it without boil- ing down. But look out not to feed it on days too cool for bees to fly freely. 4. Take the cold blast, Even with that I have known the smoke to be so hot with a strong fire as to melt the cappings of sec- tions, and to kill bees. Miscellaneous Questions 1. I am going to buy five dovetailed 10- frame hives this spring. I only want honey for the house. Whicli is belter for me. the extracting hive or sections. I read in the bee-books the extracting hive is best for home use. Please tell me why. 2. Can I get honey out of the extracting frames without the extractor ? Can I melt it over the stove some way without breaking the comb, and will the bees store honey in the comb again ? 3. Is sap from rock-maple good feed for bees ? If so. should it be boiled down or fed as it comes from the tree? If boiled down. Transferring— Entrances in Winter 1. When is the best time to change bees from box-hives to movable frames ? How is the best way to 1^0 it ? 2. Do the metal-spaced frames give ample room for bees to pass between frames ? 3. When a drone hatches at the same time a queen does, is he old enough to fertilize her? 4. When bees are w'intered out-of-doors in boxes, chaff on all sides and top, with the '»• inch side of the bottom up. will it be all right to leave the whole entrance open; that is. the whole length - Iowa. Answers.— L Wait until they swarm, and then proceed as in answer to Kentucky. 2. Yes, they take up almost no room. 3. I don't know, but I hardly think so. 4. Most beekeepers would probably close up about /i of it. Transferring Which is the best way to transfer bees from boxes to hives? Last summer I had so many swarms that I ran out of empty hives and had to hive some in winter covers that I use. Ohio. Answer.— It is getting to be considered the best plan to wait until the bees swarm, hive the swarm in a new hive, and then 21 days later to break up the old hive and add its bees to the swarm. Good Crop in Idaho I had 40 colonies, spring count, and in- creased to 83. I sold a little over 2000 pounds of honey, butwegetonlyiocentsperpound; very fine honey at that. I sold all my ex- tracted honey for 8 cents per pound, but I was told by my customers that they never had hner honey than 1 furnished them. Ustick. Idahc. John Bliss. A Big Increase and Some Surplus Bees worked on dandelion on Dec. 6. 1013. the latest I have ever known. We have had the best fall crop of asters for years in this locality. I lost bs colonies out of 70 in March from tioods; that left me 5. I increased to 50 colonies, and produced 500 pounds of comb and extracted honey. How is that for increase? They are all strong and have plenty of honey to winter on. Louis Werner. Edwardsville. III.. Dec. 16. 1013. able to raise comb honey, and others claim- !ng that extracted is more profitable. I raise extracted exclusively from my four bee yards, and buy what choice comb I need for my trade, and no matter how good a crop I get I have to buy several thousand pounds every year to supply my customers, and the way I look at the matter is that most of the writers do not touch the main reason for raising extracted honey instead of comb, which is tiiat of taking the price, say 12 cents, for extracted, and 50 percent more, or 18 cents, for comb honey custo- mers. They will buy to pounds of extracted to one pound of comb, or at least I can sell 1000 pounds of extracted at 12 cents easier than I can too pounds of comb at 18 cents, and that when I have plenty of both kinds for the customers to select from. Parksville, N. Y. A. W. Smith. Why Extracted Honey Should Have a Preference I have read many articles in bee journals, some trying to prove that it is more profit- Orton's Home-made Saw: As winter is a leisure time, the idea struck me it would be a good time to make a saw rig as described on page 377 of Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1012. To be brief, the thing was a flat failure with me. It takes a better kicker than a man in his 8oth year. To help out. I got a neighbor, with his iSs-horse- power gasoline engine, whicli made the saw 102 March, 1914. American Vae Journal sing like an angry bee. The winter has been very mild on tlie coast, with lots of rain, and no freezinii weather. The fields are as green as in, June, I have 55 colonies of bees, mostly Italians, wintering well. M, S. Sno\\'. Littell, Wash. Good Prospects We had a fair crop of excellent clover honey last season, and the prospects are bright for a good crop of clover this year. So far bees are in good condition with plenty of winter stores. Addison Gould. Weston, W. Va., .Tan. i;. Dry Season but Good This is my third season with bees. I have 20 colonies, spring count, and they gave me 1000 pounds of honey this season, about 280 pounds of section honey, and the balance extracted. It is all of good quality, but the season was dry. .1. A, Horn. Westwood, N. J.. Dec. 10, IQ13, Interest the Boys As the time will soon be here for putting out some decoy hives, boys get busy and see how many swarms you can catch and make some easy money, I will tell how I do it: Buy a candy pail at the store for 10 cents, split a small piece off the cover and tit a piece on that will extend out to make the alighting-board. This, with a few cross sticks, is all that is necessary if we were going to let them hll the pail, but if it is profit we want we will tr.insfer them to a good standard hive. I have planned a false bottom to be nailed to a flat board with a cleat bra.cing it from both sides, and a hand- hold at the bottom for lifting it out. If they have filled the pail with comb be- fore you see them, all that is necessary is to cut around the pail and raise them out and shake them into your hive. Cut out the comb that you wish to save and leave plenty as a bait, and you have abetter decoy hive than a new one, I would advise that the pail be well painted on the outside, which will keep it from having any open cracks. My boys are going to put out quite a number. Toledo, Iowa, Jan. 30. F. B, Millard, Rearing Some Brood I opened two hives yesterday; one had no brood, the other had a circle 6 inches across one way and 8 the other, mostly sealed. The hive was packed on the sum- mer stand; mercury at 56 degrees in the shade, J. L, Strong. Clarinda. Iowa, Jan 10. No Loss Yet No loss so far. Bees have not been con- fined to the hives to exceed ten days at any onetime this winter. They were out yes- terday, and will get a good flight today. Bradshaw,N, Y., Feb, 10, C B, Palmer. C A U C A S A N S THE COMING BEE Nothing lacking— excel in many ways all other races I am the Pioneer in bringing the TRUE GREY CAUCASIAN BEE To the American Continent Prices and explanatory free for k tosfat Established In Michigan in 187 8 A. D. D. WOOD Box 61, Lansing, Mich., or Box 82, Houston Heights, Tex. p O Will sell Nuclei from my '• *" Michigan yards only, S~N V I S V o n V 3 Classified Department [Advertisements in this department will be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- counts of any kind , Notices here cannot be less than two lines. If wanted in this de- partment, you must say so when ordering. BEES AND QUEENS. Queens, improved Red Clover Italians, bred for business, June i to Nov, 15. Un- tested Queens, "sceach; dozen. S8, 00; Select, $1,00 each; dozen, Sio, Tested Queens, $1.25; dozen. $12. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. H. C, Clemons, Boyd, Ky, P"oR Sale— Choice Golden Queens that produce Golden bees equal to any, Wm, S. Barnett, Barnett's, Virginia. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens will please you. Bees and Queens from my New Jersey apiary. J. H. M. Cook, i.'Vtf 70 Cortland St,, New York City, Golden all-over Queens, Untested, $1.00. Tested, $3.00. Breeders, $5,00 and $10. 2.\tf Robert Inghram, Sycamore, Pa. loia Queens— Moore's strain of leather- colored Italians. In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address. Ogden Bee & Honey Co., Ogden, Utah. Golden and 3-Banded Italians, also Car- niolan Queens, Tested, $loo; untested, 75c each, 'Write for prices of bees per pound and nuclei. C. B. Banksto n, tf Box 65, Buffalo, Leon Co., Tex. Italian Queens— Bees by lb. Descriptive List free. Apiaries under State inspection. Leaflets. " How to Introduce Queens." I5C. " How to Increase." 15c; both. 25c. 2Ait E. E. Mott, Glenwood, Mich, Queens— 10 percent discount for orders received before Mayi. to be filled in May and June. Tested. $1.00; untested. 75c. Dead ones replaced free. 2Agt S. Click. Rt. 2, Box xii. Mt. Jackson, 'Va, Phelps' Golden Italian Bees are hustlers, California's Golden and .vbanded equal the best. Try them March i. No. culls. Tested. $1.25 to 52.50. Select mated, one. 75c; 12. $8.00; 50, S32; 100. $60. W. A. Barstow & Co,, San lose, Calif. Italian Queens, 5-banded, forsale. Ready April 13. Untested queens. 75c each, or $7.25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. falley. Queen Breeder, 3Atf Rt. 4. Greenville. Ala. Strong Colony of Italian bees, with test- ed queen, in a complete new hive. Sio. Tested queen. J1.50. I. J. Stringham. i05ParkPI., N. Y. Apiaries, Glen Cove. L, I, Golden Queens that produce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal- lenge the world on my Goldens and their honey-getting qualities. Price, $1,00 each; Tested, $2,00: Breeders. $5,00 and Sio,oo, 2Atf J, B, Brockwell, Barnetts. Va, Queens bred from Moore's and Doolittle's best Italian Slock. Untested, ooc each; $6.()0 per dozen; $50 per 100. Tested. io.2o per dozen; $80 ner 100, Delivery guar anteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity; 2-frame. Si-5o; 3-frame, $2,00, Add price of above queen wanted, Spencer Apiaries Co,, Nordhoff. Calif. We requeen our bees every year with best Italian stock to prevent swarming. We offer the one-year old queens removed from these hives at 50c each; $5.40 per doz. ; J40 per 100. Delivery guaranteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity; 2-franie. $1.50; 3-frame. $2.00. Add price of above queens wanted. Spencer Apiaries Co., Nordhoff, Calif. Dunn's Golden Italian queens, bred strictly for business that produce a strong race of honey gatherers. March i to Oct. 15. One, mated. 75c: 6, $425; 12, $8.25; 50. $32.50; 100. $60. L. J. Dunn, Queen Breeder, 2Aot Box 337 G, R. R. 6. San Jose. Calif. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated, $1.00; six, $5.00; Tested, $3 00; Breed- ers, $5,00 and $10. C. W. Phelps & Son. 3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton, N. Y. For .Sale— Moore strain and Golden Ital- ian queens Untested. $t 00; 6. $5,00; 12. $0.00. Carniolan. Banat and Caucasian queens; Se- lect Untested. $1.25; 6. $6.00; 12. $10. Tested, any kind. $i.5u; 6. $8. 00. Choice Breeders. $3.00 to $5.00. Circular free. W. H. Rails. Orange. California. Quirin's Famous improved Italian queens are northern bred and extremely hardy; over 20 years a breeder. Colonies, Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H. G, Quirin. The Queen Breeder, Bellevue, Ohio. For Sale— 3-banded Italian queens, nuclei and bees by the pound. Being large honey- producers, we breed hustlers. Untested queens, each. 75c; tested. $1.25. Without queens, i pound of bees, $1,25; 2-frame nu- clei, $2,50. Write for a complete price list. 2.^tf Brown & Berry. Hayneville. Ala. California Italian Queens — 3-banded and Goldens by return mail after March 15, Select untested, one, 75c; 12, $8,oe. Test- ed, $1.00; breeder. $3,00, Bees by the pound, a specialty, ready April I. i lb.. $1.35; 2 lb . $2.50. Delivery and satisfaction guaranteed. Correspondence solicited. Circulars free. J. E. Wing. 155 Schieler Ave., San Jose. Calif, Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens. Ready March i. They have been bred for three points, prolificness, gentleness and honey-gathering qualities. Prices. Select Untested. 75c each; 6, $4.25; 12. S8.25; 50, $32,50; 100, $60. Tested, $1.50; Select "Tested, $2.00, Garden City Apiary Co,, R. R, 3, Box 86, San Jose, Calif, I Will Sell and ship an equivalent of 500 2-frame nuclei from 400 colonies in northern Louisiana, in April and May. Two- comb nuclei $2.00 Three-comb nuclei 2.75 One pound bees in Root cages 1.50 Two pound bees in Root cages 2.50 Young queens for business— extra 75 You can buy bees from me for much less money than the value of the honey it takes to winter in the North. And you can use your extracting combs from your foul-broody colonies. Address until Match 14- H. C. Ahlers, R. D, i. West Bend. Wis, HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous^ Melilotus Honey,' Sample for stamp. Null Co,, Demopol is, Ala WANTED--Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax, R, A, Burnett & Co,, 6Ai2t 173 S, Water St.. Chicago. III. For Sale — No. i white comb. $3.50 per case; No. 2. $3.20; 24 pounds to case. Wiley A. Latshaw. Carlisle. Ind. $1000 one thousand). I will pay the above amount in cash for one pound of honey that is equal to my Kat h'ipi: (Harnessed Sun- beams) Honey in digestibility, nutrient, value or flavor. Samples and prices free, C. W, Dayton, Owensmouth, Calif, India— The Eastern Commercial Agency, 3i4« Richey Road, Ahmedabad, Contractors, and Agents, export beeswax and India pro- visions, pickles, drugs and condiments. Im- port motor, electric and municipal goods and machinery. Extracted Honey — Best pure Illinois. White Clover and blends with Sweet Clover. Amber Fall and Spanish-needle grades. Also fine Western Water-white and Light Amber Alfalfa. All packed in 5, 10 and 60 lb, cans. Some in barrels. Samples and prices Free. Dadant & Sons. Hamilton, III, March, 1914. American Hee Journal 103 For Sale— Choice extracted honey, thick, well ripened, delicious Havor. Price, yc per pound in new 6o-lb. cans. Address. 2Atf J. I'. Moore. Morgan. Ky, For Sale— 4000 lbs. fine quality raspberry- milkweed honey at 8c per lb. Also looo lbs. light amber at 7C {. o, b. here. All in new 6o- Ib. cans (2 in caseK Small sample free. zAtf P. W. Sowinski. Bellaire, Mich. Dealers and producers who buy honey kindly ask for a late number of the Review, eivine a list of members having honey for sale. Many carloads are listed in each num- ber. Address. ■Phe Beekeepers' Review. Northstar. Mich. SUPPLIES. For Sale - Root's eoods and Dadant's foundation at factory prices. Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff. Calif. Bee-Keeper, let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co.. jAtf Greenville. Tex. Better Hives for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick. Sunnyside. Wash. The Weaver automatic honey-extractor. It reverses at full speed, is simple and posi- tive, saves 50 percent of labor and at the same time increases the output 50 percent. A 4-frame will do the work of an 8. Everyone in the market for an extractor send for full particulars. Weaver Bros. Richmond & Falmouth. Ky. The National Beekeepers' Association now buy supplies for their members. Send us your order, enclosing the same money you have to pay others, and we will buy them for you on the co-operative plan. If not a member we reserve the right to retain ti.50 from the profits on your first order to pay your membership dues and subscrip- tion to the Review one year. Sample copy of the Review free. Address. National Beekeepers' Ass'n.. Northstar.Mich FOB SALE 73 Colonies of bees for sale. Write Jay C. Davis. Rt. 2. Marshfield. Wis. Have More Bees than I can handle, also extra farm for sale. W. T. Bailey, Suffolk. Va Double the honey crop and save half the labor. 25c. Money back if not satisfied. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter Springs. Kan. For Sale— Barnes' foot power saw in fine condition and used very little. Pi'ice. $20.00. R. E. Hammond. Heath Springs. S. C. One 2)^x13 Vandervoort Mill, liuht or me- dium brood. $18; one six-inch super. Root Mill. $8 00. Both in perfect order. F. H. Cyrenius. Hillside Park. Oswego. N. 'Y. For Sale— 2n Horse Power I. H. C. Deliv- ery Truck: good as new. In fine condition and running order. Will besold at a bargain. A3t L. Werner. Edwardsville. III. For Sale— Empty second-hand cans. tw° cans to the case; good as new; 25c per case- C. H.W. Weber. 2146 Central Ave.. Cincinnati. Ohio. MISCELLANEOUS Rufus-Red Belgian Hares. Price list free. Harvey L. Stumb. Quakertown. Pa. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony; my neighbors got none. I'll tell you how for 25c. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. The Beekeepers' Review Clubbing List The Review and American Bee Journal one year $1.50. The Review and Gleanings one year. $1.50. All three for one year only $2.00. Dealers, or those wanting to buy honey, kindly ask for a late number of the Review having a list of 100 producers having honey for sale. Address. The Beekeepers' Review. Northstar. Mich. POULTRY Pure White and Blue Barred Homer Pieeons. Good breeders and mated pairs. J. W. Hopson. Bedford. Iowa. Single Comh Brown Leghorns. Cham- pions of the West. Over ion prizes won. My quarter of a century record is free. S.'^U C. V. Lang. La Crosse. Wis. For Sale- Single Comb Buff Orpington eggs for hatching, pure bloods; $1 00 per 15 or $5. 00 per hundred. .Satisfaction Cniaranteed. W. H. Payne. Hamilton. III. u NTESTED QUEENS, 7.?c each; 7.50 per do/en. I cstcd. J1.50. Breeders ichdice;. $5.00. Nuclei. $1.25 per frame; good supply of bees. K lb. Bees lltalians) with untesledqueen, J2.00. One pound with untested Mu: 12 for Sio In lots of 25 or more, 75c each. Select Tested. Si.oo; Breeders. $5-oo and $10. A. B. MARCHANT Apalachicola, Florida The Opfer Hive-Entrance Bee-Feeder. Some of the many good points of the I^n- trance Feeder are these : 1. It is made of heavy galvanized iron and will last a life-time. 2. It reduces the hive entrance. 3. It reaches where the bees can get at the feed even in cool weather. 4. It feeds the right amount. 5. It will not cause robbing. 6. It will not disturb the colony while feed- ing. 7. It permits quick work. 8 The bees will not drown in it. I am in a position to furnish all demands for these feeders at the following prices, f. o. b. Chicago: One for20c: s for i8c each; 10 for i6c each. If ordered by mail, add loc each for packing and postage- Address all orders to— A. H. OPFER, 6259 Patterson Ave., Chicago, III. Dixie Swarms Direct to You in April Stop and think for halt a minute what a small package of beej or nuclei would do if put on those unoccupied combs early in the spring. The cost is just a drop in the bucket, and your IQ14 honey crop may be doubled. Bees by the pound. Queens and nuclei shipped during April. Carefully selected stock. Excellent express and mail service. Prices low. Save money by writ- ing at once, for our price-list and estimate on your order. CONNEAUT LAKE BEE COMPANY Meldrim, Georgia i ITALIAN QUEENS ^ Try Murry's Strain of 3-Banded o Italian Queens X Best stock obtainable at any price. 18 X years' experience as aqueen-breeder. X Satisfaction guaranteed or money re- X funded. Ko nuclei, besides 11 apiaries 8^ to draw from. Write for booklet, free. Tested queens in March. IJntested i» in April. X Prices before May 10th : Q Untested. 75 cts. straight; Tested. K S'J.oo per too. A After May 10th: 0 Untested, one for 70 cts.; 0 for $4 uo; V 100 for Stj^.ou. Tested, one for $1.00; fi V for $5.00; luo for $80.00. Select Tested, Q Si '^0. Breeders. $5 00. V Beesby the pound; One pound. S2. 00; J{ 10 pounds. $18,, so; 100 pounds. SiSo.on. JJ Better let nic book your orders now. Jj for bees or queens in quantities. No V disease. N H. D. MURRY, Mathis, Texas >!»0«006COSOOQOS>QCCfeOSOSOS<: Buy Carniolans in Carniola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awirded 60 ... Honors Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheiner-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria ITALIAN BEES Choice Home-bred Queens Reared In stroni colonies. PRICES FOR APRIL One Tested Queen $2.00 " Select Tested 2.65 Breeder 4.00 Comb Nucleus — no »>>3( ^<^->^^3«-»^ ^«-^3^«- •^>3S'"'"SS'"H 106 March, 1914 American Hae Journal ffain 3hed Collar pet I I nf? inio ^eed pooi storm Prcof Feed Cup ^Close Fitting: Collar , he/ds bottle F/rm in position ■^nd Rol'l^er Procf f^£i^ /act tea. tO! THALE'S REGULATIVE VACUUM BEE-FEEDER THIS ILLUSTRATION shows the special designed bottle which controls the feed on Thale's Regulative Vacuum Bee Feeder. This feeder is designed under the latest scientific method of controlling the feed by means of Vacuum and keeping the feed at a certain level, and in reach of the bees at all times. The slide is the means of in- creasing or decreasing the amount of feed. (See Feb. i issue ) This feeder is manufactured by the most skillful workmen, and its construction is perfect. Over 29.000 of these feeders were sold in January, and some of those who have received them have re-ordered more and have expressed their opinion that this feeder will unquestionably be the most profitable investment for the beekeepers. The Chicago-Northwestern IJeekeepers' Association which was held in Chicago Dec. 17-18. I'jU. to whom I have described and demonstrated this, feeder in detail and in use. gives the following endorsement: WHEREAS. This Convention has been impressed by the exhibit of the I'hale Regula- tive Vacuum Bee- Feeder, and believe that the same is a good device for stimulative feeding THEREFORE. Be it resolved that the Chicago-Northwestern Beekeepers' Association in convention assembled, do heartily endorse the above device as a practical instrument for the beekeeper at large. I. E. PYLES ARTHUR STANLEY. W. B. BLUME. I want over 100.000 of these feeders in use by June i. I will ship you as many feeders as you need on ten days' free trial in your own apiary, and if these feeders do not work as represented, you may return them to me at my expense, and your money will be rpfiinHeH Send for free trial offer. Address. Free Trial Dept.. A 04. reiunaea. Send for feeder circular and bee-suoply catalog. I carry a full line of Lewis Beeware and Dadant's Foundation. One of my Vacuum Bee Feeders complete with two bottles FREE with every ten-dollar order. Send ms a list of your wants— it is no trouble to answer letters. TERMS, CASH WITH ORDER Sample feeder, with two bottles, complete by miil postpaid 55c Ten feeders, complete with one bottle, by freight or express, each All orders over ten feeders eakh only Extra botles with cork vaWe, each . . . - 30c 10c Eastern buyers send orders to Earl M. Nichols, Lyonsville, Mass., and B. H. Masters, Edison, Ohio H. H. THALE Inventor and Manufacturer Box A 25 Maywood, Missouri N N N N M M M N N N N N N N N N N N Organized Co-operation THE WESTERN HONEY BEE A n^vj magazine owned and run by the bee-keepers, filled with Western life as depicted by the best talent on bee topics obtainable. Special department on crop and market conditions during ADVERTISERS Queen-Breeders' Department 1 inch, $2.00 per issue Classified, 15c a line Writefor particulars season. Published Monthly by the California Stale Bee-Keepers' Ass'n LiO.s Augeles, Calif. J. D. BIXBY, Editor, Covina, California. HAKENOKE MONEY »XXAAJLJLMJLAAW >^W>^KXXXXXXX m:( Blauke's Bee. Book Free JOHNNIE-ON-THE-SPOT DELIVERIES When you order Bee Goods, you want them " now"— we are in the very heart of the BeeSection— no city with so eood package car service— largest stock west of the Mississippi. When- ever possible, orders shipped same day as received— more carefully pack- ed than ordinary. Blanke's Bee-book Free a catalog tilled with helpful tips for either be- ginner or old timer. Write today be- fore you need supplies. Department 1 Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co. St. Louis, Missouri SUPERIOR GOLDEN QUEENS Untested, $1.00; 6, $5.00; 12, $9. Select Untested, $1.25; 6, $6, 12, $10. Prices on application for tested and untested queens by the hundred. Address, T. S. HALL, Talking Rock, Ga. Honey in Tubes. — " Honey put up in collapsible tubes like tooth-paste, is a novelty in the German market." — Popu- lar ^Mechanics for February. ALSIKE CLOVER SEED Small and large red. alfalfa, white and yel- low sweet clover seed, timothy, blue grass, rape, millet, etc. Also seed corn. Catalog of apiary supplies and seeds free F. A. SNELL, Milledgeville, Illinois Add Poultry! Thisis theProf it Year This is the year to take en poultry with your bee business. Our Free Bulletin service a complete guide. Never before was there such a demand for chickens and egrRs and at amazing: prices. Make sure of bi^tjest pro- fits with proved equipment. INCUBATORS and BROODERS World's Standard. Self-rotyulating; self-vcntilat-ng. Fireproof; insurable. Hinhost rwordfl for bia, cnntinuoiia hatches. Get Cyphers Com- panv's 24'1-pafFe catalog nnd poultry puide ocforo you buy. Eipht vitally helpful chapters,] Send a postal today. Cyphers Incubator Company Dept. 83 Buffalo. N.Y. CYPHERS March, ll'H. 107 American l^ee Journal lecoooocooooosoooscoscccecccocooooecoocooosoocccooocci § ' NARSHFIELD GOODS BEE KEEPERS :— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. 1 § We also manufacture Hives, Brood- S Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- x ping-Cases. 8 Q Our Catalog is free for the asking. S I Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis. | OOOeoeOOQOOCOOQCOSOSGOQaoOOOQOOeoSQOSOQOC^SQOSOSOSO Make Your Hens Lay ■i ou can double your ep-g yield by feedlnp fresh-cut. raw bnne. It V j contains o%-er four times as much eg^ making material as grain and takes the place of bugs ami worms in fowis' diet. That's why It gives more eggs— ^;reater fertility, stronger chicks, larger fowls. MANN'S 'iiS^i: BONE CUTTER cuts easily and rapidly all large and siiiall bones with adhering meat and gristle. Au*'>mati<-aMy adapts to your strength. Never clogs. Sect i 10 Osys' Free Trial. No money down. Send for our free books today. F. W. MANN CO, BoK 348 MILFORP. MASS. ^iC<;CKSCc^xc^^^^^^^^^^^^^^&&&^^»^^o^.>a^^w^^>^^^^CGC^. I 1 Dittmer's Foundation Is the Comb Foundation made to suit the Honey Bee. It's the Comb Foundation that helps pro- duce the full capacity honey crop. It's the Comb Foundation to give your Honey Bees. Ask for more information ; also prices and FULL DISCOUNT on all Bee-Supplies. I Gus Dittmer Company Augusta, Wisconsin PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. Manufacturers OF THE "NONE BEHER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from youne. white, basswood. White Pine Hives and Supers. Excellent Shipping- Cases. Brood-Frames, Separators, etc. We invite your correspondence, Guarantee ^ All goods guaranteed perfect in workmanship and material or money cheerfully refunded. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wis. Early QUEENS Send me your address for Italians and Car- niolans. IBEGIN mailing Queens early in March. Untested, 75 cts. each. Tested, $1.25 each. Circular free. Grant Anderson, ®''"Tfxa"J*''' DUADD WANTS YOUR ORDERS rnHnn for queens Goldens and 3-Banded Italians Kor twelve years we have asked for your orders and we have gotten all we could fill and sometimes more. But we have ever tried to serve you right, and will guarantee similar treat- ment in the future. Prices of Untested. $i.oo; Tested. $i.5o; Breeders. 3.00 to $s.oo. Write for prices in large iiuantities. Address. Orders booked now— delivery last of May or June John W. Pharr, Berclair, Texas CARNIOLAN QUEENS Carniolans are excellent winterers, build up rapidly in the spring, are very gentle. very prolific, cap their combs very white, enter supers readily, and keep their colonies strong at all times. Write for our free pa- per. "Superiority of the Carniolan Bee." ex- plaining more fully, giving briefly best sys- tems of management. Untested queens, $i.oo each; doz., Jfj.oo. Kull colony with tested queen. 8fr. dove, or Danz. lo-fr.. $ia. in April. ALBERT G. HANN, Pittstown, New Jersey ( tifiiiohm Queen- lirtcder. M " Now, Then— Lefs Talk Business" SOON, you will need many additional Bee Supplies for the new season — Hives, Brood-frames, Comb Foundation, Honey-boards, Smokers, Bee-veils, Inrushes, and whatnot. It is not too early to get your mind on this subject right now. Send for our new 1914 catalog — just off the press. A post card will do. It tells all about— THE MUTH SPECIAL Dovetailed Hive This Hive has several remarltable features. The cover and bottom boards are of T's-inch material so rigidly constructed as to Ije absolutely warp proof. Besides this extra efficiency we have added a Honey board directly under the cover, forming a dead-air space which e.xcludes both cold and heat. Tiiakine this the best wintering Hiveon the market today, and farsuperior to others in summer. The boiling sun has no effect on the interior of this Hive, which is always comfort- ably cool, and prevents the comb from melting down. An- other feature: When you takeoff the honey simply slide the Honey-board between the brood-cHamber and the super, and the bees will clear out of the super by way of the Bee-escape. Price same as for the ordinary Hive. THE FRED W. MUTH COMPANY 204 Walnut St. "The Busy Bee Men' Cincinnati, Ohio P. S. Send us your old comb and cappings for rendering by our high pressure hydraulic press. It gets the last drop from the slumgum. Means money to you. Write at once for particulars. M ,»0, .1 ['h WE MAKF. IT GOOD THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS The Reputation of DADANfS FOUNDATION Has been built on its merit It is a Favorite witli Beekeepers BECAUSE It is so well liked by the BEES Whether it's a pound or whether it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way :/r >, Apiary of H. Adams, at Hagerman, N. Mexico no April, 1914. American Hee Journal ^^. j^S«^3^3RIOa^ , ^^ PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY American Bee Journal 1st Nat'l Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is Si.oo a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. $i.io; and in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " deci3" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December. 1013- SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-Wedonot send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 4 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: i times 14C a line 9 times lie a line 6 " I2C " 12 " (I yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices. 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 25th of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Gentle, More Indastrlons, Long Tongned, Tte Best Honey Gatherers. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Agricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. 1805. Swiss National Exposition, Geneva. 1806. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Liege Belgium. :8gb. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1007. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Extra BreedineQueens. SJ-oo; Selected. $2.00; Fertilized. $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of the/ ANTHONY BIACCI, National Bee- • Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass' n 1 Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. s This is llie Discount Season on h I BEE-SUPPLIES AND BEES | Write us stating what you are in need of, and we will quote you. If you sell supplies our discount sheet is yours for the asking. Catalog on reriuest. I. J. STRINCHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. •>0<>SOS<>SOSS make, and we expect todo It wltb thin Sa» It wlU do ail you say It wiLV CatalOK euid p'ice-llst Cr»E iw*aw«» w. F. ft jrofiA dABirsft •M SBlif 8U SmMbffd, Hi. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. Tlie best that money can bu!'; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan bred in separate yards, ready March 20. Untested, one. $1: six. $5; 12. $g; 25. $17.50; so. tu; 100. $65- Tested, one. $1.50; six. 58; 12. $15- Breeders of either strain. $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame. $2.50; six one-frame. $15: two-frame$3. 50; six two-frame (20.40: nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $300; six one-frame. $i7-4o; two-frame. $4; six two-frame $21.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS. Attalla, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R (Trade mark.) Each, 15c; Doz., $1.66, posti)aid If your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lewistown, Illinois BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hive-bod- ies. Smokers, etc. tiet my prices before placing your orders. R. H. SCHMIDT Rt. 3, Box 209, Sheboygan, Wis. ^5 r-^^O^^^^l^^H PROTECTION HIVE. The shallow Roof Cover and the Outside Rim make a divisible deep cover whicli can be handled together or in part. They eliminate the Chaff Tray nuisance, and the heavy bungle- some deep cover in manipulation. The Rim holds the overhead packing in winter and acts as a super protector at other times. This combination is the finest in hive construction on the mar- ket today. Dead-air spaceor packingas you pre- fer; Vs material in the outer wall. Spe- cial circular showing 10 illustrations will e.xplain all. 5 10-frame hives like cut $13.00 A. G. WOODMAN CO., Grand Rapids, Michigan WOODMAN'S SECTION FIXER A New Machine of pressed steel for folding sections and putting in top and bottom starters all at one handling. A great time saver and a good job assured with ease. With top and bottom starter the comb is firmly attached to all four sides, a require- ment to grade Fancy. Increase the value of your crop this season by this method. We want every one to try this machine. We guarantee satis- faction. Adjustable to any width. 4^4X4^4 or 4x5 section. Model received with much favor by recent Detroit and Chicago Beekeepers' Conven tions. Price. $2,50 f. o. b. Weight. = lbs. Send fcr special circular sho\\' ing large illustrations. A G. WOODMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Michigan 51NGHAM ^^^ ''®" Bingham Bee-Smoker the all important tool of the most ex- tensive honey-producers of the world. This illustration shows the remarkable steel-fire grate which such men as Mr. France, Mr. Rauchfuss, the Dadants and others say is the best on the mar- ket. The Smoke Engine grate has 381 holes for the air and draft, equal to an opening 2 inches square. Buy the large sizes and be pleased. For sale at your dealers or direct. Weight each. Smoke Kngine 4-inch stove i^lbs. $1.25 Doctor • 3!4-inch stove. .ifi " .8s Two largersizes in cooper. extra " .50 Conqueror 3-inch stove 1% " .75 Little Wonder 2H-inch stove. .1 " .50 Two largest sizes with hinged cover. A. G. WOODMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Michigan American Hee Journal u falcon" Hives,Supplies and Foundation Everything for the BEEKEEPER "falcon" Foundation made in the "falcon" plant at Falconer, N. Y. SUPPLIES FOR 1914— Take inventory of supplies now and fieure what you will need for a slim season. Get them ready at odd times in the winter: and if there is a good season you will have ample time to reorder in April and get them for use. We lii.e 10 make 'Inventory Sales " of " Falcon " supplies, for we know that we are dealing with an up-to-date beekeeper. INVESTMENT— What is the investment of an extra $25.00 in supplies to the loss of 500 pounds of honey ? Resolve to change for iqi4. and buy ■' Falcon" supplies now. , , , , EARLY-ORDER DISCOUNT— For "Falcon " hives and supplies bought now we give an early-order cash discount equai to 12 percent per year. You see it pays for a strictly money basis. Write for early-order discounts, and send list of wants for " FALCON " QUALITY — In making our beehives, all of our waste lumber is made into cheap toy building-blocks, so that we are able to put better material in our hives and goods. Get a trial lot this fall so that you can see for yourself, and still have time to order iQUSupplies. , , „ , ^ .... PREE SAMPLES of our famous Falcon" foundation, made in our factory at ralconer, N. Y.. cheerfully sent postpaid with copy of catalog, and name of nearest dealer if desired. FACTORY W. T. FALCONER IVSFG. CO., Falconer, N. Y., U. S. A U'hcre the ffood bee-hh'es come fyom BUY YOUR HIVES AT MANUFACTURER'S PRICES The largest manufacturing plant of Cedar Bee-Hives on the Pacific Coast. Cedar is the best and most lasting wood for any climate. The prices for which we are to-day selling these hives is not even approaclied by any othtn- first class hive made. Get our prices, they will makt^ you smile. BREW MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Puyallup, Washington Quality Hill Queens | "The queens you'll eventually buy" Buy Quality Hill famous utility queens, an excellent honey-gathering strain of light or dark Italians. Breeders selected tor color among mothers exceeding average apiary yield. Drone mothers from the highest yielders only. Wintei excellently here, and have proven esoeciaily resistant to foul brood. All queens reared in full colonies while fed; mated in 4-frame nuclei, which gives large, vigorous and prolihc queens. Purity of mating, safe arrival, freedom from disease, and satisfaction guaranteed. Write today for booklet, " A Story of Success." May I to July i July i to Nov. Untested Si. 00 Tested i.7,s Select tested 2.75 straight Write for breeders— $4.00 and up. Reference : Plainfield State Bank. 5 percent discount on dozen orders QUALITY HILL APIARIES, 6 12 1 6 12 $5.00 S Q.OO S .80 $4.75 J 8.50 Q.OO 17.00 1.50 8.00 15.00 ght 2.50 Straight -delivery after July 1. Plainfield, Illinois 1 EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 2!) years' experience in making everything for the beekeeper. A large factory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsville, Missouri We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land- None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H. S. Duby. St. Anne, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. LARGEST, BEST and most complete line of Bee and Poultry Supplies ever seen in Illinois at the lowest living prices. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Established in i8go Send for our new catalog. Let us hear from you. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, III. April, i:ii4. 113 American Vae Journal The Double-Walled Massie Bee-Hive THE MASSIE HIVE Fur Ci'inU or Kxtraclcl Hi.i WHY NOT GIVE US A TRIAL ORDER ? Surest Protection for Bees Increased Supply of Honey — Tlie Best Hive for any Climate Furnished in the clearest of lumber in either Cypress, White Pine or Redwood THE MASSIE VENTILATED BOTTOM \>lmits fresh air into the hi\'e. lessening the chance of swarinint;. and giving renewed energy to the bees. Fifty years in the bee supply business has shown us that the MASSIE is the very best hive, and testimonials to this effect are received daily from those who are using this hive. SATISFACTION FULLY GUARANTEED 1 lie Dovetailed Hivi We are also extensive manufacturers of Dovetailed Hives and all other Apiarian Supplies. If you are in the market for supplies be sure to get our prices before buying elsewhere. We issue a 72 i)age ill ustratecl catalog which will be mailed to any one upon request. KRETCHMER MFG. CO., COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA Features of Advantage of the :<>S<>O»Ci:>0OCO:>9OQ<>QiQi0O«>C .1 une I Junt 1 to J uly I Jul 1 y I to Nov.! I 6 1 b 12 1 6 12 6 12 ll 50 t 7.50 }I3.50 J1.25 J 650 J11.50 $1.00 t 5.00 S 0.00 J. 75 $ 4 00 $ 7..50 2 00 8 50 15 00 1.50 7..iO =3 50 I 25 6.50 12.00 1. 00 5 00 9.00 250 1.1.50 25.00 2.00 10,50 18.50 1.75 q.OO 17.00 1.50 8 00 15.00 3. IX) 16 50 30.00 2.75 15.00 27.00 250 13.EO 25.00 2 00 In no 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year —Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested tor breeding, $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.S0 to $10 each. Queens for export will be carefully packed in long distance cages, but safe delivery is not guaranteed John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. lEE KEEPERS Everything in Supplies New Goods. Factory Prices Save Freight and Express Charges CULL & WILLIAMS CO. Providence, R. I. I X»00UCO00C<>SO0OSiSCCO!>0»e<^ i i WESTERN BEE KEEPERS S^one^and get the best t-'oods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers* Association Denver. Colorado W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings Laws' queens above the usual standard; bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March: untested. after April ist. About so first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested. $1.25; 5 for $500: Breeders, each $500. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Write us tur our •j4-pa.e catalog. Free. Full information given to all inquiries. Let us hear from you. We handle the best of bee-supplies for the beekeeper Our ship- ping facilities are good. We cater to parcel post and express orders— none too small nor too large. Beeswax exchanged for supplies or cash. John Nebel & Son Supply Co., High Hill, Missouri QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of ^ band stock reared for honey- gathering qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later, 75c Tested, $1-50. Select tested, $2. ,u Send your orders now and be as- ■~ sured of having queens when you want them. R. A. SHULTS, Cosby, Tenn. i^4^4i1^4^4^4f^4^ 4^4^4^4f^4f^^^4^4^ 4^^4^4i^ ^ ^ ^ When You Buy Lewis Beeware ■YOU GET. ^ ^ ^ I o%A#ic OUd I itV W^^c^ means that all Lewis Hives are made out of w^^^mKm^^^K^mmi^^^m clear white pine, and Lewis Sections made out of fine white basswood. Material in these goods is the best obtainable, selected by experts. ^ Lewis Workmanship "^^^ Lewis Factory is equipped with ^^■■■^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^^^^^^H the latest improved machinery, con- stantly watched by experts. The Lewis head mechanic has 36 years of bee- supply experience ; the superintendent of bee-hive department, 30 years ; the superintendent of sections, 29 years. These and many other skilled men have a hand in all the Lewis goods you buy. I Auuje Packinfi! ah Lewis Beeware is carefully and accurately ^^^^^i^H^^B^^^^Hi^HB packed — a patent woven wood-and-wire package made only by the Lewis Company is employed largely in packing ; this makes the package light, compact and damage-proof. I AM/je Service Years ago all goods were shipped direct from the ^HH^i^^l^Hi^HBi^H^^B factory with attending high freight-rates and de- lays during the honey season ; now Lewis Beeware can be obtained almost at ^^ your own door. Over 30 Distributing Houses carrying Lewis Beeware by the ^1^ carload, are dotted all over the United States and foreign countries. Write ^h for the name of the one nearest you. ^ Our New Catalog for 1914 is Now Out. Send for One I G. B. Lewis Company, ^ Manufacturers of Beeware, ^ Watertown, - - Wisconsin I Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamilton. 111., under Act of March 3. 1870.) Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building C. p. DAD.ANT. Editor. DR. C. C MILLER. Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL., APRIL, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 4 Editorial Comments Kducatioual—Houey-Bee Tablet We are in receipt, from the New York State Association of Beekeepers' Societies, of a writing tablet for school use showing on its cover the queen, worker and drone, with an explanation on the verso or underside of cover, giving a brief natural history of the bee, a description of the nature of honey, etc. We would suggest that to it be added a few facts concerning the usefulness of bees in fertilizing flowers [ and an explanation of the impossibility of their damaging sound fruit, owing to the peculiar shape of their mandi- bles. The spreading broadcast of useful information on bees in this manner is sure to bear fruits and to increase the demand for honey. Such primary ' methods of teaching facts should be I encouraged, and we cannot commend ! them too highly. The New York State ■ beekeepers are working efficiently at I small cost. A New Geriuau Bee-Book We are indebted to the author for a copy of a text-book in the German language entitled, " Die Biene und der Breitwabenstock " (The Bee and the Wide Frame Hive). It contains 175 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, is written by Franz Richter, the writer of the Rundschau in Bienen-Vater, and • can be obtained for boctor Cartou on Foiilbrood The readers will find among ouv con- tributions a lengthy and very interest- ing article on the above subject. Dr. Carton, whose portrait we also pro- duce, is the well-known author of sev- eral learned books on clinical and bac- teriological subjects, probably the most notable of which is entitled, " La Tuber- culose Par .\rthritisme." He is a pupil of Pasteur, the most wonderful bacter- iologist of modern times. He has writ- ten a work in which he asserts that the "three deadly aliments" are alcohol, meat and sugar. The Editor met him in Europe, and received from him a promise to give our readers his ideas concerning "foulbrood." He is a bee- keeper and interested in those ques- tions. Probably few of our readers will entirely agree with the opinions expressed, but they will notice that Dr. Carton advises just the methods fol- lowed in America, and deprecates the use of drugs. In this we will agree with him. Doctor Miller, who has read the Car- ton article, has this to say about it : It is well that attention should be called to the importance of keeping bees in the best physical condition so that they may resist the encroachment of malign influences, and especially is it well to call attention, as Dr. Carton does, to the danger of substituting sugar for honey as food for bees. He speaks of the " noxious " effect of sugar. He hardly means by that that sugar contains elements actively pois- onous, but rather that sugar has a neg- atively noxious influence because of its lack of certain elements, as iron, which, although present in honey in minute proportion, are exceedingly important. Upon one point practical beekeepers will probably not agree entirely with what they will be likely to understand as Dr. Carton's view. He does not say so in so many words, but it sounds a good deal as if he said : "The germs of foulbrood are present everywhere, resisted by colonies of sufficient vigor, but ready at any time to pounce upon and destroy all colonies in a weakened lie April, 1914. American Hee Journal and debilitated condition." It is un- doubtedly true that many germs, both good and bad, are to be found every- where, but are the germs of foulbrood thus omnipresent ? For many years after the honey-bee was introduced into this country foul- brood was unknown. Is it believable that during all that time germs of the disease were alertly on the watch with- out ever finding a single colony any- where in such poor condition as to allow them to effect an entrance ? Take a specific instance, the case of one of the veterans who began bee- keeping many years ago. During all his experience of many years he had no personal knowledge of foulbrood. Then came years when he knew it was in the land, appearing here and there, but not in his neighborhood. Then it came to his knowledge that the disease was within a few miles of him, and a few years ago he found it in his own apiary. He had been on the alert for it; his colonies were in good condi- tion ; yet there it was, in good, strong previously healthy colonies. It is in- credible that during the years of his novitiate there should never have been a colony in such poor condition as to offer an abode to those villainous germs prowling everywhere, and that such an abode could only be found after many years of waiting until the value of strong, healthy colonies had been fully learned, and that such colonies not un- til then offered a welcome to the mis- creants. As already said, it is just possible that Dr. Carton may not have meant what he appears to mean, and it is well to warn the ine.xperienced that he should put no false trust in the best sanitary care of his colonies, but watch even the strongest for the appearance of the foe. The Weed Flora ot Iowa We have under our eyes Bulletin No. 4 of the Iowa Geological Survey, with above title. The book is very exhaus- tive, and contains over 900 pages, with 40 pages of index, numerous engrav- ings, considerations on the structure of seeds, flowers, leaves and roots, the injuriousness of weeds, their migra- tions, weed and seed laws, etc. It is the work of Dr. L. H. Pammel, the eminent professor of botany at Ames, and author of a " Manual of Poisonous Plants." This appears to be a very thorough work, and the cuts are excellent. There is but one thing for which we might be sorry concerning this most useful treatise. It is that the usefulness of such weeds as produce honey has not been taken into account, the only men- tion that he have seen of honey pro- duction from weeds being in regard to sweet clover, to which Dr. Pammel renders full justice. We notice that he places golden-rod on a parity with ragweed as to the baneful influence of its pollen on hay-fever sufferers. We suggest that an additional study of the weed flora in regard to the use- fulness of the honey and pollen pro- duction would be exceedingly interest- ing. It might also be published in the form of a bulletin. In the fight against weeds, it is well that we should sep- arate those which prove useful in honey production from the thoroughly injurious ones like the ragweed. It remains for eminent workers like Dr. Pammel to give the country this addi- tional information, and it is to the in- terest of the farmers that it be done. Fastening Foundation with Putty Knife C. B. Palmer writes: "I have been using this style of fastening for two seasons, and find it very good. We take the foundation and lay it on the sec- tion, dip a short, stiff putty-knife in common Karo white syrup, and press the foundation into the wood; the syrup prevents the knife from sticking to the foundation, and the Karo hardens at the edge of the foundation, and seems to make a tight and smooth joint. (Do not get the syrup under the foundation.)" Mr. Palmer sends a sample, which shows a nice, straight job. The use of the putty-knife for fastening founda- tion in sections was superseded by the Parker fastener, which did at a single stroke wliat the putty-knife did at sev- eral strokes. Then the hot plate drove out the Parker. Yet the old method of fastening still comes nicely in play when in the apiary a section happens to be found in which a starter has fallen down; only in that case instead of a putty-knife the flat blade of a hive- tool is generally used, because more convenient, and for the same reason honey is used instead of Karo. Besides, it seems a sort of insult to the bees to offer them glucose, even in so very small quantity. Making Hone.v Labels Stick In the March number Dr. Miller stated that he had trouble with making labels stick on tin. We have since re- ceived several letters suggesting reme- dies for this, nearly all of them recom- mending the addition of a small amount of honey to the paste. Mr. R. S. Miller, of Indiana, writes : "This is a problem that bothered me for a long time. By experimenting I finally found that by scouring the sur- face of the tin the labels would stick. Later I learned how to make paste that would stick without scouring. Use plenty of water in making a thin paste of flour or starch. Boil slowly and evenly. When partly boiled down add two tablespoonfuls of honey to each teacup of the paste. Continue to boil until thick. Use while fresh." Mr. Parison, of California, suggests the addition of a small amount of fish glue instead of the honey. He also gives the formula for making a paste that will keep any length of time : " Mix two tablespoonfuls of corn starch to K pint of cold water. Add one teaspoonful of fish glue and }-i tablespooful of lye that has been lique- fied in water. Cook until thick, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. If it does not thicken properly, add a little more lye. This paste will not sour or smell." Note. — If honey is used in the paste, care should be taken to use white honey, as a darker honey may discolor the label. A Honey Day One of the interesting points brought out at the February meeting at St. Louis, was the possibility of establish- ing a national " honey day " in which people would be urged to eat honey. Mr. Geo. W. Williams, of Redkey, Ind., said that Dec. 15 had been designated in Indiana as a " honey day." In a private letter to the Editor, he stated that in his opinion this helped to move some 40 tons or more of honey than would have otherwise been sold in the State. There is no doubt that a Na- tional Honey Day would help honey sales considerably. Let our beekeepers agitate this subject. Foulbrood v.s. Foul Brood Some time ago we received the fol- lowing from Dr. Miller, regarding whether " foulbrood " should be spelled as two words or one ; " When a man sees a bird of any kind which is black in color, we say, ' He saw a black bird,' writing the two words separately and putting the em- phasis on ' bird.' If he uses the same two words to name a particular bird that he saw (a grackle), putting the emphasis on 'black,' then we unite the two words into one, and say, ' He saw a blackbird.' Same with blackberry, greenhouse, etc. In some cases there is an intermediate stage, and hyphen is used between the two words, but sooner or latter the hyphen is usually dropped, and the two words written as one. By analogy, when we use the words ' foul ' and ' brood ' to name a certain disease, putting the emphasis on 'foul.' wc should write 'foulbrood,' and not ' foul brood.' If healthy brood is taken from a hive and left to decay, there will in time be foul brood, but no foulbrood. It would be well if this form should be used in all bee litera- ture." lust when is the proper time to drop the hyphen is hard to tell. For in- stance, bee-keeping is considered cor- rect, yet it should be a word of com- April. 1914. 117 American Hee Jfoarnal mon enough usage so that the hyphen may be omitted. We have omitted it in our cohinins for some time past. There is a tendency at present to omit the hyphen either by making separate words of the parts or by making all one word. Hereafter foul brood will be written as one word by us. Calilbrnia Beekeeping The American I'ee Journal has re- cently made arrangements for a monthly contribution from the " Golden State." If the articles prove as " pleasant " as the name of our correspondent, every- body will be pleased. The first con- tribution is in the present issue. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Percentage of Germination in Sweet Clover Seed. — Our attention has been called to the fact that many people when ordering sweet clover seed of seed houses and elsewhere, will insist in their letter that the germination of the seed should be at least 80 percent. It is interesting to note in this con- nection just what actual tests will prove with the average run of seed. Prof. J. G. Mosier, in the Prairie Farmer for Feb. l.j, says : " ."^s a general rule sweet clover seed does not give a high percentage of germination because of the dense seed coat through which the moisture can- not penetrate readily. These are what is known as hard seeds. Nearly all seed contains considerable quantity of these hard seeds that do not germinate the first year. "At the Ohio Experiment Station the average percent of germination of 37 samples tested by the botanical de- partment was 29.14. This poor germi- nation may be largely overcome by treating the seed with concentrated sulphuric acid for half an hour." Favorable Prospects — Small Losses Late winter reports coming in after most bees have had at least one good flight, indicate that losses in bees have been extra light so far, and that the bees should be in good condition for spring. Floods have done consider- able damage in California, but pros- pects never were better for a good honey crop, and some of the older bee- keepers are predicting a banner yield. Texas floods have also subsided, and a season at least good enough to offset the failure of last year is expected. The West reports few losses and ex- cellent prospects, while in the central and eastern States, although bees are coming through in good shape, it is doubtful if the crop will be as good as 1913. In our own locality clover seems scarce. Bees have wintered finely. Out of three apiaries totaling over 200 col- onies, so far inspected, there is not a single colony lost, and the most of them are fairly well supplied with stores. Connecticut Meeting The 23d annual meeting of the Connecticut Beekeepers' Association will be held at Hartford, Saturday, April 18, 1914. Sessions 10:30 a.m. and 1 :30 p.m. Dr. Herbert E. Stockwell, of Stock- bridge, Mass., ex-president of the Berkshire County Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, will address us upon the sub- ject of "The Theory and Significance of Immunity; / e., of Resistance to Disease as Applied to Bees." Other features of the program are: " How to save money in buying hives and fixtures ;" " Every man his own in- spector;" latest methods of treatment," with demonstrations by Inspector Yates. Inspector Coley will open dis- cussion upon the subject. "Manage- ment of a comb-honey apiary to pre- vent swarming," by L. C. LeMay. Discussion — "Smoke introduction of queens." " Advantages of a let-alone hive and how to manage." Demonstra- tion by Allen Latham "Comparative merits of 8-frame and 10-frame hives for comb honey in localities of Connecti- cut," A. W. Coley. Please bring for display and demon- stration any invention, implement or method you may have. Space and tables will be provided. A special invitation is extended to fruit growers to attend. L. Wayne Adams, Sec. Amendments to New Zealand Act. — In 1908 and l!i09 Mr. Isaac Hopkins. Government Apiarist for New Zealand, recommended amendments to the foul- brood law in order that the good work which had been accomplished might not be nullified. These recommenda- tions have but lately been adopted and made a part of the law. Some of the more important of the new features are: compulsory annual registration of all apiaries, strict supervision over im- ported bees and appliances, periodical inspection of queen-rearing apiaries, and prohibition of selling queens from apiaries in which foulbrood exists. The inspectors of the province are supplied with motor cycles so as to facilitate their work. Death of Alexander Schroeder We regret to report the death of Mr. Alex- ander Schroeder, which occurred in Trieste, Austria, during the early part of February. Mr. Schroeder was an expert linguist and an extensive trav- eler. Some of our older readers will probably recall contributions from him which appeared in the American Bee Journal from time to time. Our Front Cover. — On our cover page we give a photograph of the apiary of H. Adams, of New Mexico. This api- ary consists of 160 colonies, the hives being arranged in clusters of 9, 3 fac- ing in each direction. Mr. Adams states that this arrangement allows him to work with 9 hives without much ApIARV of J. B. HOI.LOPETEK, AT PENTZ' PA. American Bae Journall April, 1914. change of position and withovit getting in front of a single colony. It also has the added advantage that young queens returning from their mating flight are less liable to get lost by en- tering the wrong hive. Visit from A. H. Fralick.— We ac- knowledge a visit from Mr. A. H. Fra- lick, veteran beekeeper of Homer, Minn., on his way home after having spent the winter in Florida. Mr. Fra- lick has purchased property near Bra- dentown, Fla., and expects to spend his winters there, but he prefers the North when it comes to keeping bees and getting honey. A Curious Use ol Honey. — Mr. J. Es- card, in the Revue Scientifique, cites the curious use of honey made, in the Palatinate, by the gem-cutters. In this region, where gem-cutting establish- ments are numerous, the agates, called bathed agates, are prepared as follows; After washing and drying them, they are placed in a solution of honey in which they are left for a long time. The liquid penetrates slowly into the fissures according to the porosity of the stones. When the imbibing is sufficient, the stones are washed and put into a bath of concentrated sulfuric acid. This acid slowly burns out the honey and produces carbon residues which pleasingly marble the agates. — Kei'ite Francaise d\4ficuUu)-e. Death of Aaron Snyder Mr. Aaron Snyder, a noted New York beekeeper, of Kingston, died on March 3, 1914, in his 71st year, of cancer. He began keeping bees when he was 1() years old, and continued until his death. In 1889, he moved from Albany Co., N. Y., to the city of Kingston; here he continued to run from four to five apiaries, one being at his home on the edge of the city, and the others Winter View of the Hoi.lgpeter Apiarv. Hives in pairs are usually packed in one case. within driving distance, from 2 to 6 miles away. Mr. Snyder was a good practical apiarist. He had an inventive mind and made many changes, and used many kinds of hives. Within the last few years he produced mostly comb honey, but lately changed to extracted with success. His choice of hive was a 9 or 10 frame hive with extracting supers half the depth of the hive. He believed in selling his own honey. He kept agents on the road as salesmen, and bought honey in addition to what he produced himself to supply his customers. He put his honey up in 1-pound bottles and Ti-pound pails. At one time Mr. Snvder had foul- brood, as had all of his neighbor bee- keepers for miles around. Mr. Snyder sent for me, and I went and helped him and his neighbors to get cleaned up. Some, of course, lost their bees. Mr. Snyder was one who cleaned up and saved almost all of his bees, and there is not much foulbrood around there now. He has since thought well of bee-inspectors, and often expressed his appreciation of the work that the State has been doing for tlie beekeep- ing fraternity. ■ N. D. West. Cyprian Queens. — We have several enquiries from subscribers asking where they can obtain Cyprian queens. Any one who can furnish the pure stock will confer a favor to our sub- scribers by letting it be known. Meeting of the Kansas Beekeepers Another View of Mr. Hom.ope ter's Aimarv— Colonies are Arranced in Pairs. The Kansas State Beekeepers' Asso- ciation is growing in importance. At its meeting of Feb. 26-7, which was at- tended by our Editor, a number of im- portant subjects were discussed, chief among which is foulbrood. This dis- ease is bringing beekeepers closer to- gether, and proves the truth of the old adage : " It is an ill wind turns none to good." Professor Geo. A. Dean, iMitomolo- gist of the Kansas Agricultural Col- lege at Manhattan, read an able paper on " Insect Enemies and Diseases of Bees." We are glad to be able to say that from the consensus of opinion there is less disease now in Kansas than form- erly. But a unanimous desire was ex- pressed to secure an appropriation for the continuation of the work of in- spection. In this State as elsewhere beekeepers are convinced that the most good can be done by inspectors from an educational standpoint. Sugges- tions are more effective than compul- sion, and there is but little difficulty in convincing rational men that it is to their interest to eradicate the disease as promptly as possible. The main re- quirement is to show them how this is done. A few facts peculiar to Kansas were brought out. Alfalfa growing is said to be spreading very fast over the State, and it has been repeatedly proven that a good crop of seed may be se- cured from it only when bees are nu- April, 1914. American Hee Journal meroiis in the vicinity. This is not a new fact, but it is well to repeat it. The lack of hollow trees in this prairie country for the harboring of runaway swarms, was set in evidence by the report of C. M. Randall, of To- peka, who removed 63 swarms from the walls of frame houses in one year. As many as 3 swarms were removed by him from a single house. Mr. Wayland Dunham, a high school student, read a very interesting essay on " Bees and Beekeeping." Dr. Bohrer's essay on " Foulbrood,' caused much comment, for it covered the ground fully. Dr. Bohrer is now 81 years old, and the oldest living mem- ber of the National Association, of which he is a charter member. The officers elected are: O. S. Mul- lin, president ; C. S. Kistler, vice-presi- dent; O. A. Keene, secretary-treasurer. Prof. Dean, the State Entomologist, assured the members that an effort would be made to organize a class in beekeeping at the Agricultural College. A photograph of the meeting was taken; rather too late, however, as a number of members had already left. We give it in this number. All Kansas beekeepers desirous of joining this association are requested to write to the secretary, O. A. Keene, 1600 Seward Ave., Topeka. Obituary — F. B. Cavanagh Fred B. Cavanagh was born Dec. 19, 1880, and died at his home in Hebron, Ind., Feb. 12, 1914. His father died in 1904, leaving his mother with three brothers and three sisters to survive. With them the widow remains to mourn his death. When but a boy he became interested The Late Cavanagh. in" bees, and decided to take up bee- keeping as a life work. Imbued with active energy, he made the bees pay his way through a college course so that he might be better fitted for a business success. IjjMr. Cavanagh then took up bee-keep- ing in Michigan. In 1900 he was mar- ried to Miss Mabel Wilbur. In 1908 they moved to Hebron, Ind. Here the business rapidly grew until at the time of his death he owned and operated nearly 500 colonies of bees. In all his undertakings Mr. Cavanagh was thorough. He experimented with difTerent methods of wintering until he found the one best fitted to his needs, then stuck to this. He was one of the first to advocate the automobile for out-yards, using in connection a trailer for hauling supers, etc. Later an auto truck was used. Throughout his business career he made many friends and gained the confidence of his acqaintances by his honesty and industry. Mrs. Cavanagh will not endeavor to continue the business, but is offering for sale bees, supplies, and everything connected with the extensive business of her late husband. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. The Season's Outlook In many locations in south Florida bees were swarming the first of March, but it is difTerent outside of this sec- tion of Dixie. The progress in brood- rearing or building up for the first flow is from two to three weeks behind that of average seasons, due to the ex- treme cold weather which has con- tinued for 30 days. Up to this time bees seemed to be making the usual progress, but steady cold winds, snow, sleet, rain and ice and freezing weather have put and end to this progress, for the bees have been confined to their hives. None of our greatest honey-plants has budded yet, so the results may not be as bad as expected. But my e.xperience is, where bees have made such a good start un- der such favorable conditions, and then have been set back, the second start will not be so great, and if the spring opens up quickly, and the honey plants come out, the bees are not so well prepared for the harvest. Some of my apiarists who have charge of bees where they have a good flow the latter part of February, report the bees three weeks behind in building up, and the first honey plants just blooming. In cases of this kind the honey-flow is a total loss to the beekeepers. Death of Our Foreman As the city clock was striking nine on the evening of Feb. 16, the spirit of our manager of apiaries, Dave Reeves, passed into the great beyond. He was sick only a few hours, and was looking after my interest here at Cordele while I was taking my much needed rest dur- ing the winter at Bradentown, Fla. As soon as I received notice of his sickness, I left Florida and hurried to his bedside, reaching it only a short time before he expired. Mr. Reeves was less than 21 years old at the time of his death, coming to me to work while he was yet a boy. Al- most his last words he bade us to push on with our work, then with tears run- ning down his cheeks, in a low voice he said, "I wish I could be with you." Mr. Reeves, beyond a doubt, covered more ground in beekeeping than any predecessor. He headed the work of harvesting our enormous crop of honey last season from 3000 colonies in 51 yards, scattered at intervals for 200 miles. He was a lightning opera- tor, making the rounds to all apiaries from four to six times during the sea- son, overseeing and planningthe work, spreading broad in the early part of season where it was necessary, and looking after the weak colonies. He made most of the increase, did a lot of requeening, changed storing room around, and left at each apiary instructions for work to be done, so the man in charge could see to the balance. After he had seen all the honey re- moved, packed and shipped, and bees put away for winter, he located at Cor- dele, and headed the making of sup- plies for 1500 colonies increase the coming season, cutting out all the fix- tures from the bottom-boards to the covers. Three cars of necessary sup- plies for increase had been sent to dif- ferent parts of the field. He made fewer mistakes than any one who has ever come under my em- ployment. His ideas were always bright. His place in the business will never be so well filled. We have sus- tained almost untold loss in his death. He wns truly a talented apiarist. Apiary Work During favorable weather in early spring bees will build up readily if they have plenty of stores and good queens. Otherwise they will lag and must have more attention, or they will not be strong enough to reap a harvest by the time the early or main honey-flow comes. I am not an advocate of stimulative feeding, even to encourage brood-rear- ing in the spring; this partly on ac- count of the fact that our weather cannot be depended upon. If a cold and dismal spell comes during the stimulation, the bees are apt to get dysentery and weaken. On the other hand, if conditions are too bright, the sun is warm, etc., the stimulation is apt to c?use an excess of swarming. Should stores run short, owing to the bees being put into winter quar- ters with a very limited supply of honey, they should be fed to avert American fiee Journal April, 1914. Members in Attendance at the Kansas Convention at Topeka in February. starvation, keeping stores well equa- lized, and keeping a close watch on the brood-nest. As soon as the queens start to laying well, keep them at it by inserting empty combs in the middle of the brood-nest, and if such frames contain some honey along the upper edges all the better. This should be kept up until the brood-nest is well oc- cupied by the queens, then add supers as fast as the bees enter and start well at work in them, inserting the empty supers under those already on. What I mean by equalizing stores may not be understood by some. It is simply taking frame.s of honey (not live liees) from hives which can spare them and giving them to those which may be lighter or contain but little honey. In turn the empty combs from the lighter hives are put in the middle of the hives from which the honey was taken. This will cause the heavier ones to rear more bees, and the weaker ones will be stimulated to greater ac- tivity by being supplied with stores. This means more in the way of harvest- ing honey than the average beekeeper is aware of. Is a Bee-Estate Easily Disposed of? This is a very important question to those who own large bee-estates or those who contemplate doing so. In rare cases such an estate might have to be disposed of at a sacrifice; but in the majority of cases the reverse would be true. A well established bee-busi- ness is a good investment, and if no member of the family who owned it would care to take up such a business after the owner's death, it could easily be disposed of at a good figure This question troubled the widow of the late Mr. R. W. Herlong, of Florida, who died leaving a large bee-estate, but it was not long before Mrs. Her- long learned of a number of buyers, and soon closed the business out at a good profit. There is a much greater demand for a well-established bee-business than for just a small lot of bees. From a paying standpoint it is better to buy a well equipped and established business when one has available cash. My wife used to say to me often, " What could I do with all the bees should you die ?" I told her to have them worked on shares. But what about it now, should such be the case, or should I decide to sell ? The deal or sale would be made and confirmed in short order. There are many people who know me, and have some idea of the output of the business, and who are anxious to take stock at the first opportunity, and no doubt such is the case with beekeepers who have a similar business. Bee-Keeping <^ For Women Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson, Marengo. 111. Grey and Grade Italians What are the grey Italians, and where are they procurable ? A few days ago I heard of grade Italians, which are reared in Califor- nia in the plateau of the mountain Shiala Nevada. If you know of them please let me know in what point the grade Italians are superior to other breeds of bees? Knni Wada. Japan. It would seem that there must be some mistake about the grey Italian. Yellow is the distinguishing color of Italians. Pure Italian stock shows three yellow bands on the abdomens of the workers. In America Italians have been bred with four or five yellow bands, but there is no tendencyto grey. There are also what are called albino, having bands quite light in color. These approach more nearly to grey than those previously mentioned, yet they are never called grey Italians. Is it not possible that Carniolans, not Ital- ians, are meant ? Carniolans are fa- vored by some, but in general they are not considered equal to Italians. They have an unenviable reputation as great swarmers. A grade Italian is probably what is usually called hybrid ; that is, a cross between Italian and black bees. These grades, or hybrids, are not generally desired, yet they are the most common Miss Knni Wada. A leading woman beekeeper of lapan. of all bees in this country, because at one time only blacks were here, and since the introduction of Italians there is always a tendency toward a mixture April, ini-f. American Hee Journal of black blood. Hybrids are likely to have bad tempers, some of them sting- ing viciously. The first cross may be just as good workers as pure Italians, but they do not have the same fixed character, and succeeding generations are likely to deteriorate. On the whole, no kind of bee has given such universal satisfaction in this country as pure 3-banded Italians, and the likelihood is that you will find nothing better for Japan. Please accept very hearty thanks for the pictures. It will be a great pleas- ure for the readers of this department to look upon the face of a sister in far- away Japan, and to look upon your beautiful apiary, even though they may not read the characters at the right. Pity they cannot all see your beautifully clear writing of the English language, which very few of them can equal. Please do not let this be the last we shall hear from you and your bees. Questions and Experiences I began keeping bees last spring with one colony to start with. I now have 11. I secured 150 pounds from one colony, and very near the same from another; the rest were too late to gather any surplus honey. We are using the large hives, 20x2ti, but they are very heavy for one person to handle. 1. Are they too large to work well ? 2. Can a hive be painted on the inside, or would it hurt the bees in any way? 3. I have a swarm of bees in the house which was taken from a tree late last fall, and I am not sure if we got the queen. Will they build worker comb if they are queenless ? 4. They are doing well. I feed them every other day with warm honey. Is that often enough ? I think the world of my little dumb friends, and we get along nicely. It is very seldom I get stung. I give them all the fresh water they can drink on hot days; when they see the pail theyalmost coverme some- times. Lnever saw an apiary in my life or had any dealings whatever with bees until last summer ; but I often wished I had a few colonies. Finally I got my wish, and I am not a bit sorry, as we get along nicely together. Mrs. Wm. F., Iowa. Answers. — 1. The hive may be too large, and it may be too small. You give only the length and width, with- out saying anything about the height. It is not very likely that it is shallow enough to b« too small. You had one colony to start with last spring, and now have 11. If you bought no others, and the 11 came from that one colony, with 1(50 pounds of surplus from one colony, and nearly that from another, perhaps 300 in all, you surely had im- mense success, and that is pretty good proof that the size of the hive is all right. 2. It is practically certain that paint- ing inside would do no good, else there would be some who would thus paint. Very likely it would not make a great deal of difference ; but some think it would do harm. Indeed there are some who think it is better for the bees that no paint should be even on the outside. 3. A queenless colony will not build worker comb, although a weak nucleus may build such comb if it builds any. But if you find a colony of anything like ordinary strength building worker comb, you may rest easy that it has a queen. 4. It would be better not to feed so often as every other day. Indeed, in cold weather, it is best not to feed at all, but to have enough stores in the hive so no feeding is needed till warm weather conies. You are surely to be congratulated on your success. A woman who knows enough to manage bees so successfully must know how to vote. Does Soil Influence Nectar Flavor and Color ? "Mr. Chadwick argues that locality and soil do not influence the color or flavor of nectar. We are sure he is wrong, for usually golden-rod honey is a dark inferior honey scarcely fit for bees to winter on, yet here with us it is a beautiful golden and delicious. Our customers demand it in preference to our white clover honey, which is extra nice. "The soil here is light and sandy. A few miles from us where the soil is hard clay, the golden-rod honey is very dark and inferior in flavor. Same way with potatoes; we have often sold potatoes 10 cents per bushel above the market price because of their being grown on sandy soil. Apples are more highly colored and better flavored than those grown on clay. "Arden, Neb. Emma S. Mills." Swarming During the Record Crop Inquiry has been made as to what we did about swarming while getting our big crop last year. We followed the plans given in " Fifty Years Among the Bees," not adhering strictly to any one plan. The year was a bad one for swarming. Some say that when a heavy flow comes on the bees get so interested in storing that they give up swarming thoughts. That was not the rule in 1013 — perhaps never — in this locality. Never was there a better flow, and never was swarming more trouble- some than in 1013. Bees swarmed early and late, and often. About once in 10 days examination was made for queen-cells. So long as only eggs or quite young larv;e were found in the cells, they were destroyed and nothing more was done about it, but if, after 10 days, larv:e were found sealed or nearly ready to seal, or if, as too often happened last year, a swarm issued, then the colony was treated. In some cases we caged the queen for 10 days. In most cases we used the put- up plan. Two or more frames of brood, perhaps all the brood, with a force of bees, were put in a hive with the queen and set on top of the supers — no communication between — and in 10 days these were put down again, all cells in the lower story being re- moved. In some cases the bees swarmed again within a very few days — a thing that does not often occur other years, and then the queen was caged for a few days longer. A few colonies were run for extract- ing combs, and in some of them the Deniaree plan was used ; when there was danger of swarming all the brood, except perhaps one frame, was put into a second story, and the queen was left in the lower story, this lower story being filled with foundation or drawn combs. A queen-excluder was between the two stories. As the brood hatched out in the upper story, the cells were filled with honey. This is an excellent plan when extracting combs are used, but of course does not work with sections. Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy. Ontario. More About Beginners and Conditions in the Beekeeping Industry Judging from letters I have received relative to that item in the February .American Bee Journal entitled, " Honey Production as Ranked with Other Business," personally it is a case of " fools rushing in where angels fear to tread." Men have written me from far off Washington in the northwest, and Texas in the southwest, to say noth- ing of all other points of the compass nearer home, and without exception all are enthusiastically in favor of the views I expressed. Bui a lot of these writers warn me to look out or the "fellows with an axe to grind will get me," and being naturally slow to take a hint, I hardly understand what they mean. Large producers, including presidents of State associations, have written me. While surprised at such a a response, I am gratified to find that I am not alone in taking what some might call a reactionary step. I am sorry that " Optimist " has not given his address, for not knowing who he is, I am at a loss to know how to take him ; really, I feel that he is just joking in some of the things he said. First of all, I want to say emphati- cally that it is none of my business how many enter the business of bee- keeping ro/iiii/art/y — don't misunder- stand me on that point. My conten- tion is that beekeepers who depend upon the business for a living, and the associations they are affiliated with are doing a foolish thing when they trj to coax and encourage others to enter into the business and increase compe- tition, especially when production is already in excess of demand. It is not 122 American Tiee Jonrnal fair to the men already in the business, and it is just as unfair to encourage others to come in when the prospects are not good for them to succeed financially. If "Optimist" is no nearer correct in all his claims than he is when he wonders if I am not planning to in- crease my colonies in 1914, he is much mistaken. Aside from winter losses, I expect to have at least 100 colonies less this year than last. As to nectar going to waste in some localities, that has happened for ages, and no one will be held guilty of a heinous offense for neglecting to try to gather all this nectar even if there were no market for it. Some places are overstocked now in Ontario, as many know, and more than that, many beginners fostered by the help of the Ontario Association and the Department at Guelph, are causing this overstocking by starting up beside men who have been in the business for years. Of course. "Optimist" will say that is all right; from his remarks he is such a stickler for " sentiment " that the baser things, such as the necessity of a man feeding a family, should not be taken into consideration. Unfortu- nately sentiment of this kind, like love, while decidedly pleasant and desirable, does not go far in filling an empty stomach. "The more honey there is on the market the cheaper it will be," quotes our friend. No one disputes that phase of the argument. It is utterly foolish to try and make honey cheaper than it is now, when at present prices it is lower than nearly all other lines of food products. "Optimist" asks, with the large in- crease in members, will we not get legislation easier than before ? I don't know, and at the present moment I feel tempted to say I don't care. I do not believe the extra membership ob- tained is worth all the work and money it cost. Many of these members came in at 50 cents. We gave them a journal as a premium that costs us 70 cents, to say nothing of the cost of carrying them along. The balance came in at $1.00 each, so that leaves 30 cents to their credit. After all, what does a very large membership mean in the way of benefits ? Candidly, I don't know. "Optimist "is "playing to the gal- lery" when he mentions the fact that Dr. Kramer, of Switzerland, has 9513 members, and " they all seem to suc- ceed, too." A smarter bunch evidently than we could get on this side of the pond. Does my friend not know that a very small percentage of these bee- keepers depend upon the calling for a liviiif; Z. One of my correspondents stated in his letter that there are some who would have us be like scores of European beekeepers, who carry their crop of honey to market on their shoulders. Before closing let me quote extracts from a letter received March 13. The writer is one of the best known men in the United States, but as the letter is marked private, I cannot give his name. Among other things he says : " Honey producers had better increase the de- mand for honey than the supply. In act, it would be better for them if the demand exceeded the supply, as the price would then take care of itself. In my opinion this should be the chief object and work of all beekeepers' or- ganizations." " The keeping of more bees, making of more beekeepers, and producing more honey will be well looked after by the manufacturers of bee-supplies." All honey producers who have discovered methods of doub- ling the honey production, should be advised to put such methods into cold storage until the demand for honey is equal to the supply, or keep more bees." No doubt " Optimist " will call me a selfish mortal, and perhaps he is cor- rect, for I believe that self-preservation is the first law of nature. Perhaps he will call me a pessimist as well, but in this he will be entirely mistaken. All who know me personally, while they cannot help but know that I have a lot of failings, will at least give me credit for being a " cheerful idiot." As to selfishness, I have answered hundreds of letters from beginners in every province in Canada, and nearly if not all the States in the Union, and while I have never made wild claims as to the possibilities of the business, if I have ever written discouragingly to a single one of these people I wish he would remind me of it. In conclusion, let us just use plain common sense in this matter, and for the time at least leave gush and sentiment alone until we have something more encouraging to warrant us in persuading people to go into beekeeping for a living. Weather Conditions and Wintering The frigid weather mentioned in the March issue continued through Febru- ary, and March up to date has been colder than usual. Although bees had their last cleansing flight on Nov. 23, and have since passed through so much very cold weather, they appear to be holding their own fairly well, judging by external appearances. Nearly all colonies I have peeped into by lifting the quilt under the packing, are nicely clustered and apparently little the worse for their long confine- ment. Of course, it is too early to say how the bees will come out, but I am not looking for any great loss. Once we get to the middle of March we hope for fine warm days, so that we can see the bees on the wing once more. While we have had little snow all winter, the cold weather has kept what we have from melting, with the result that (March 13) the fields are still cov- ered. This means that what little clover we have (alsike) will be apt to stand the winter fairly well, and be in better shape to weather the trying times later on when we have thawing by day and freezing by night. Association Did Not Attempt to Sell Honey While I agree with the sentiments expressed by R. F. Holtermann, on page 94 of the March issue of the American Bee Journal, I would re- mind our friend that he is in error when he says that the " Ontario Bee- keepers' Association " undertook to sell honey for the members. I was in sympathy with the effort referred to, and think the work was commenda- ble, but the ./.ssor/a;'/o« deserves neither thanks or criticism for anything that was done, as Mr. Pettit and some of the students at Guelph, Mr. Weir in particular, undertook this work on their own responsibility. The execu- tive had nothing to do with the effort. Please do not give the Association any honor for work it did not do, and at the same time also refrain from cen- suring it when not guilty, for good- ness knows it has enough to answer for without being blamed wrongfully. Saner Methods for the Future After all, friend Holtermann, don't you think your article smacks a bit too much of the " I told you so " principle ? I am willing to admit that you have at times tried to "put on the brakes," yet in common with many of the rest of us, you might have done better. It is always easy to see the necessity of locking the stable door after the horse is stolen. While we cannot help the A Woman At'Iarist of Japan. With a Section of thk Ar'iARv. April, 1914. American IS^e Journal past, I Iiope the lesson we are now learning will bear fruit, and that " booming " will not be quite so much in evidence in the future. At any rate, here's my hand as a pledge that this scribbler for one will do all in his power to help along saner methods for the future. Crop Prospects Unfavorable Prospects are not good for a crop in many sections of Ontario this year, owing to the drouth of 1913 killing nearly all of the freshly-seeded alsike. Unfortunately our own locality is among the stricken places, so we are anticipating having little to do this coming summer, with a correspond- ingly light pocket book in the fall. Oh, well ! there is a lot of honey still left in Ontario from last season, so perhaps it will help the business in general if some of us poor mortals, living where the clover is scarce, do not have any honey to place on the market in 1914. for bees here, as they have done every spring for several years. The price is becoming fairly well established at from $5.00 to $i).00 per colony for good bees in standard hives. Big California Beekeeping I Conducted bv I. 1-".. I'k-asants, < )range, Calif. Bright Prospects for This Year The outlook for a honey crop in southern California is fair. This, how- ever, does not mean that a big crop is assured. There are several conditions necessary to the production of a good nectar flow here, the one absolutely essential being plenty of winter rain. Following this, weather conditions must be favorable, the nights mild, light spring rains, and a slight humidity in the early part of the day. We have had good rains, an ample rainfall for the advance of the season. The growth of the sages, especially the black, is abundant. The next two months will decide what our crop is to be, but the promise is encouraging. The last two seasons have been fail- ures on the unirrigated forage on ac- count of too light rainfall, as most apiaries are weak in bees. Of course you can build up rapidly in a year like this, but you increase at the expense of honey production. A wise bee- man will " average up," increase to some extent and also work for a harvest. The moving of bees from the valley regions to the mountains will soon be- gin by those who would rather be in for the early mountain bloom than wait for the orange flow. Moving from one section to another, though not a great distance, is practiced here by many. After the honey-flow is over in the mountains, bees are moved to the valleys to take advantage of the bean bloom. Many remain to winter, build up on willow, eucalyptus, etc., and move back to their home apiaries in the mountains to be ready for the mountain plants. Some wait for the orange flow, which, roughly speaking, runs from about the middle of March to May first. This condition keeps the inspectors pretty busy, as all tees must be inspected before moving. American Foulbrood Under Control We have American foulbrood under control here now. All counties that have had competent inspectors for sev- eral years have reduced American foul- brood to so low a percentage as to be easily under control. European foulbrood is creeping into new territory, and we handle it by strengthening and re-queening — of course with good Italian stock always. I wish our scientific experimenters could help us more with this disease. It is still a question just hoiv the in- fection is carried. Now, if we knew this with the same certainty that we do of American foulbrood, it would help us with bee-diseases, and I hope they will investigate conclusively along this line. We hope Dr. Bruennich will give his method of marking queens. It would be a help to many, especially beginners. Buyers are coming into the market Plans for Bee-Exhibit at Panama Exposition We Californians, north and south, are planning what we hope to be one of the best exhibits of the bee and her products ever made, at our Exposition at San Francisco next year. This is intended to show everything pertaining to an apiary, and will present the best methods of obtaining results in honey production. It is under the manage- ment of Mr. M. H. Mendelson, of Ven- tura county. Mr. Mendelson is well known as a successful beekeeper of large experience and great energy, so we know the results will be forthcom- ing. We are sincerely hoping for a good crop of high-grade honey, so that vj^ may not only reap for ourselves, but be able to assist in furnishing ma- terial for an exhibit of which our State may be proud. It is unnecessary to say that all up-to-date beekeepers of the State are boosting for the California exhibit, and we hope all other honey- producing States will vie with us in making similar exhibits at San Fran- cisco in V^\h. It would help our na- tional market immensely, as well as assist in furnishing beautiful and in- structive entertainment to the specta- tors. Conducted by Wesley Foster, Boulder. Colo. Dr. Miller's Criticism The joke certainly is on me (page 44) in thinking that I saw wood covers in Dr. Miller's cellar. The fact is, I hardly took a look at them, as my attention was taken up with the dead bees on the floor and at the door (there were only a few), and the temperature of the room. Yes, I think I know from e.x- perience that unpainted white pine hives will gape at the corners in a very few years no matter how well nailed. Our western sun will certainly pull nails and check wood. I have the dove- tailed hives in mind, too. I have been told that redwood is a better wood for the West than white pine, but have had no e.xperience with it. I am pleased to have the description of your cover, and would like to know if the zinc just covers the top or does it extend over the sides ? My opinion would be that |i-inch boards would be too thin for us out here, and that ^s would be better. Is your cover the size of the top of the hive or larger? What would be wrong with nailing Js- inch strips around three of the sides of the top of your cover and making a bottom-board of it ? You would prob- ably want the strips "s to give a deep entrance. I have had a combination cover and bottom-board in mind for some time, and some of these days I am going to try and make one. It would be in the line of simplification of beekeeping equipment. Overproduction and Under Distribution There is an idea prevalent in bee- keepers' minds that with advertising we can greatly increase the consump- tion of honey. And such is the case in very large part, but before any manu- facturer or producer of an article launches upon an advertising campaign he first has his distributing agencies established and his goods ready to de- liver. What Mr. Byer calls overpro- duction is nothing but under distribu- tion. If every city in Canada of over 50,000 population had a specialty honey man, or some one who bottled extract- ed honey and kept all groceries, mar- kets, delicatessen stores and restau- rants supplied with comb and extracted honey the whole year around, the dull honey market would be unheard of for some time, I think. Overstocking is more of a menace than so-called overproduction. I cer- tainlv think that the Canadian bee-men 124 April, 1914. American 'See Journal should bestir themselves on this mat- ter of distributing honey. If you can- not cooperate in marketing when a large proportion of your crop is un- sold, there is not much left to do but sell your honey for less. The low limit in the West on honey is about 8h cents a dozen for fancy and No. 1 comb honey. When it gets down to that figure, the bee-men get together. It is necessity that drives the majority of bee-men to cooperation, and good common sense that leads others to get together. I should think that a little foresight would bring the Ontario bee- men together before forced by the low- ering price of honey. What is there to this question of overproduction ? Not very much when you take the whole country over; but it is possible when you take into con- sideration some States and districts. What should the average consumption of honey be in a State like Colorado ? What could it be made to consume by advertising ? Colorado's honey pro- duction for 1913 was 5 pounds for every man, woman and child in the State. That is 25 pounds for every family, couiiting the family at five members. How much of this production can we get consumed at home without ship- ping beyond the borders of our State ? I do not think that we get more than o pounds per family consumed at home. Then we have 20 pounds per family that has to be shipped out. Do you think it a possibility to get a State with 800.000 people to eat 4,000,000 pounds of honey in one year? I do not. And you may use all the advertising schemes you want, I do not think the thing can be "did." In Boulder, all the grocers have comb and extracted honey displayed and on sale throughout the year, and they advertise it in the papers. The bee-men (five specialists who live here) all sell a good deal from their homes. It is only an estimate, but 1 believe be- tween 20,000 and 30,000 pounds of comb and extracted honey is sold in a year here in Boulder. We have about 12,000 population, with a pretty large moun- tain population depending upon us for food supplies. The consumption could doubtless be increased, but with sugar becoming so cheap, and cheap syrups so plentiful, I think there is a limit to the amount of sweet that we can get an individual to eat. It certainly will not be a very wise advertising policy to spend much money urging people to buy honey at 15 and 20 cents a pound when sugar can be had for 4 cents, and the increasing cost of living is the most talked of subject among our people to- day. The proper distribution of our honey crops, and keeping our large markets supplied throughout the year will han- dle the situation for some time. The greatest need is an experienced honey man who will work systematically the trade in every large city. He should be a man who can be on the job the year around, and not a beekeeper who jumps into the city in the fall and winter and then does not show up again until the next fall. Notes From ^ Ab r oad Our Visit to Lyon and Albertville BV C. P. DADANT. LYON (the English spell it Lyons) is the third largest city of France, at the junction of the Rhone and the Saune, the former a rushing, foaming, tempestuous stream, the latter a quiet, blue river. They are mythologically represented, in poetry and statuary, as husband and wife. The allegory is quite proper. We were directed here to the secre- tary of the local bee-association and publisher of " L'Abeille du Rhone," Mr. Vibert. We found that his place of business was less than four blocks from the hotel. So we went there at once. At first sight, it seemed we had the wrong address, for the block was occupied by large wholesale houses. But in Europe, especially in large cities, you can find active business at the third story of an inner court, and that is where we found him. We had no previous knowledge of this man. But he knew us well through our past writ- ings, and at once talked to me of famil- iar subjects. He was full of fun and puns. With him we visited other friends. • , '. A" *' ^HE^^^^n^^^l^^M^il^H^^I jgg^^^ 1 k LVON EXI'ERIMENTAl. Al'IARV AT TMK .^GRlCl'l.Tl'RAL COLLEGE— MK. VutERT AT THE KXTREME Kn;HT. April, 1914, 125 "i^m^^ American Hee Joarnafl and called upon a former inhabitant of the United States, Mr. Gallet, who is carrying on a business in Lyon, and whom we had met before. He was courteous enough to put himself and his automobile at our disposal. We went out the next day to the Agricul- tural School of Ecully, near Lyon, where Mr. V'ibert has classes in bee- culture regularly during the summer. The apiary is small, as will be seen from the picture. But all sorts of hives are kept. Mr. Vibert is the gen- tleman on the right. Much good is certainly secured from these courses in bee-culture. We are glad to find that they are also becoming numerous in American colleges. A little later we visited a large api- ary, some 10 miles away, about i(0 colo- nies of Carniolans, Italians and com- Mr. Mont-Jovet. mon bees, mixed. The owner, an old gentleman over 71 years old, insisted on treating us to a honey preparation of his own make, a sort of metheglin. .But it was fermenting so strongly that when the cork was liberated it went like a gun shot, and the bottle emptied itself before anything could be done with the contents. Foaming cham- pagne was nothing in comparison. .^ second bottle gave the same result, and much to his regret he finally had to treat us on clear water, for we would not accept of wine. I saw there how easily people de- ceive themselves when trying to make rules of accidental experiences. He had a good crop of honey, but not a single colony with more than one su- per. Upon enquiry, I found that he had only once tried to put a second super under the first. The bees had carried the honey down, probably be- cause the crop was at an end. But he had concluded from his one experi- ence that it would never do to use more than one super on a hive at a time. How many of us, who laugh at this queer idea, will make the same mistake of establishing a rule on a single exception ? Another peculiar thing I noticed here. His honey-house had no win- dow in it. So he has to leave the door open when extracting honey or manip- ulating his implements. But though we laugh at these extraordinary condi- tions, we remember that this is a coun- try of long established stone buildings, that they do not build anything tem- porarily, and that they, for that reason, hesitate a great deal before making any changes to existing conditions. The wonder should be that they prog- ress as much as they do. This old gentleman was cured of rheumatism by bee stings in 1871, or 42 years ago. He was not then ac- quainted with bee-culture, and was in- duced to practice it because of this trouble. He asserted to me that he was now better able to work than he was at 30. However, he is not entirely free of the disease, and perhaps the active outdoor life has had as much to do with his improvement as the effect of the bee poison. He was very proud of his Carniolan bees, and said that they were even more peaceable than the Italians. From numerous chestnut trees in the vicinity the bees harvest honey, which, I was informed, is of very bad quality. White melilot, locust and sainfoin are the main honey producers. The next day, before leaving the city, we found time to visit the Chamber of Commerce and the Museum of Tissues, where we saw silk tissues dating back several centuries, and costumes of the time of Louis XIV. We finally left our kind guides to continue our way. We were given a pressing invitation to come back upon our return from Italy. Mr. Vibert assured us that if we prom- ised to stop there again, he would ar- range a banquet with 7.5 beekeepers of that region. But it was out of the question. On the way to Albertville, Savoy, we had an unexpected and interesting in- stance of the popularity of the Ameri- can methods of bee-culture in the coun- try at large. .'M Chambery we had to change train. Two country ladies, loaded with bundles, came into our compartment, and I had occasion to help them in. We had a chat with them, and when they found out that we were from America and interested in bee-culture, one of them said : " My father kept bees by the American meth- ods and used the Dadant hive." I took a visiting card out of my pocket and handed it to her. Great was her aston- ishment to find that I was the man whose name she had just spoken. Yet, we have never, so far, sold a bee-hive in Europe. All the influence upon Euro- pean bee-culture has been secured through the publishing of the transla- tions of the Revised Langstroth book. Only two or three are pushing the sale of American goods on the Continent. The French edition of Root's "ABC" is now helping the work begun by the Revised Langstroth. In the September number, we have already spoken of our visit to Albert- ville. I wish to insist on the advis- ability, for our beekeepers, to push the sale of honey in a manner similar to that followed by Mr. Mont-Jovet, fur- nishing it to hotels put up in individ- ual packages of a tenth of a pound. The paper packages containing it are almost identical with those used by Mr. Pouder, described on page 10 of our January number. Granulated ex- tracted honey is almost always the kind supplied. It may be found in almost every hotel of Savoy or of Switzerland. At the prices mentioned to us of $2.50 per hundred packages, it proves con- venient to the hotel keeper and suffi- ciently profitable to the beekeeper, since it serves as a very efficient adver- tising medium for his product. Mont-Jovet is a practical man, a dealer, as well as a large producer. In queen-breeding he has tried the isola- tion plan, so much praised by German- Swiss apiarists, as we will see later. He has proven to conclusion that queens and drones often mate at 4 kilo- meters, 2^ miles. He has known them to mate at ti kilometers. This tallies with our own experience at home. Of course, in a mountainous country, the result may be quite dissimilar from Mr. and Mr*;. Mont-Jovkt Looking for a Queen. 126 April, 1914. American Hee Journal that obtained in plains like those of Illinois. But since the bees may not enjoy or practice scaling very steep hills, they would probably travel farther up and down the valley. In the case of worker-bees, much depends upon how near the field of blossoms is and whether sufficient in extent. But in the cases of queens and drones there is no such limitation and they fly quite far. We have already mentioned one cut accompanying this article. The others are: A portrait of our host taken sev- eral years ago, then a view of one of his apiaries, among the grape- vines, where he and his charming better-half are busy hunting for a queen. Notice the cement pillars, shaped like troughs and supplied with water to keep away the ants. The frame work that supports the hives is of iron and rests upon those troughs. I have never seen anything so carefully arranged. The caps are hinged upon the hive front and rest upon the por- tico when the hive is opened. The hive shown in the next cut is what he calls the " Savoyarde." It is made of inch lumber, lined on the out- side with a woven wire straw mat or cushion. Such hives have the advan- tage of straw hives without their dis- DiAGRAM OF Removable Shoulders for Frames as Used by Mr. Mont-Jovet IN His Nuclel advantages. They are not very pretty, yet they have a medieval look which pleases many persons. The frames seen in the pictureare used for making nuclei, four nucleus frames to each full brood frame. They are simple square frames which are provided with arti- ficial, removable tin shoulders for sup- port in the nucleus. I do not know whether it is of any use to urge our beekeepers to try the straw protection for hives. We have ourselves used a straw mat in the Da- dant hive for 40 years. We find that the placing of this non-conductor over the brood-chamber keeps the hive cool in the summer, warm in the winter. I believe that there would be a great ad- vantage in using an outer coat of straw on our hives, as this able apiarist does. On the second day of our stay at Albertville, we went, with our host and his wife, into the mountains and trav- eled some 'K miles. It was on this trip that we saw the potato vines 51 inches tall which were so badly beaten by the giants of Idaho, shown on page 359 of our November Journal. We saw big old fruit trees, hundreds of years old, especially pear trees; fine castles, old towers, and electric power plants run by the cascading streams, and furnish- ing cheap light to all the neighbor- hood. We also saw a small hive-and- section factory. But this could no* compare with the big plants of our country. The following day, Aug. 3, we took the train for Geneva, passing by the delightfully pretty Lake of Annecy. We arrived in Geneva by noon. Contributed Articles^ Popular Fallacies BY J. F. ARCHDEKIN. IT IS ASTONISHING how little the average person knows about bees. I have been amused repeatedly by the queer ideas most people have on the subject. Cases have come to my notice that even border on su- perstition. Let me hasten to add that I don't claim any special knowledge of bees. To disprove any rights I may have to put on airs, the following inci- dent will suffice : An old fellow who has cut a few bee-trees, asserted that it had been proved that bees often fly 50 or 60 miles in search of honey. After a few more statements tending to dis- play his superior knowledge of bee- lore, he boldly remarked that I knew nothing whatever about bees. Some jolt? Well, I guess so. Should some of my neighbors see me in the bee-yard early in spring opening hives and inspecting the combs, they innocently ask if the bees are making much honey. I am probably feeding with not a blossom in sight. Many people are bee-owners who are not beekeepers. Their ignorance is of the densest, considering their chance to learn. Should you mention sub- scribing to a bee-journal or getting some bee-books, they invariably put up some excuse to dodge it. A man who is an up-to-date dairy- man says he can understand how honey is produced, but is unable to compre- hend why I rear so many queens. He realizes that each hive has one queen, but the idea of keeping several dozen queens in one hive is past him. It doesn't make any difference if they are in cages. A very estimable neighbor of mine kept his bees in big box-hives made of 2-inch white pine lumber. These are the largest hives I ever saw. There is as much room in one of them as in three 8-frame hives, probably more. About all his bees ever did was to swarm. Twenty-five pounds of chunk honey each is the extent of his crop. A few of these same colonies, when trans- ferred to modern hives, made a fine crop of section honey. .Another neighbor uses frames, but says he likes salmon boxes better than regular hives, so he uses the former. He sold $45 worth of honey from about a dozen colonies last year. Therefore, he feels very much encouraged. There is also a firmly established conviction among honey consumers that all honey is adulterated. This ap- plies to comb as well as extracted. I had one customer who argued with me to some length that he had bought comb honey which had been manufac- tured. Nothing I could say woiild shake him, not even when I gave him the name of people who would pay him $1000 for a pound of it. About the first question the city customer asksis if the honey is pure, and he has to be as- sured that it is pure country honey be- fore he will buy it. By all means let us educate the bee- keepers, the bee-owners and the honey consumers. How shall we do it? By establishing apicultural departments at the State agricultural colleges. This will give the students a chance to learn beekeeping if they desire. When the college runs an alfalfa special, and a dairy special, and a corn special, on a tour to spread knowlege of these crops, let the apicultural department send a man along to talk beekeeping at each stop. The rural schools of our State (Missouri) teach agriculture, and the scholars are required to be proficient in this branch. Couldn't a little bee instruction be included ? It would be a fascinating subject for the children.^ Now for the consumers. Couldn't the National Beekeepers' Association arrange a honey exhibit and send it to the pure food shows that are held each year in the principal cities ? This would get at the consumers, and would undoubtedlv create greater demand for honey. At the same time it would operate to set at rest the suspicion as to its purity that is cast upon honey. St. Joseph, Mo. [At the bottom of page 51, January number, our experienced contributor, J. L. Byer, criticizes the instruction given in colleges, by plating liee-cul- ture upon the curriculum, and asserts that it is helping to cause overstock- ing. The preceding contribution, which is only a reminder of the scanti- ness of public information on bees, demonstrates whether it is worth while to extend the knowledge on apicul- ture.—Editor.] Foulbrood— A Disease of Nat- ural Selection BY IIR. CARTON. IN THK STUDY of all infectious dis- eases, there are two factors to con- sider : the microbe special to each of them and the conditions of predis- April, 1914. Americanize Jonrnalj position of the organisms which have given hold to the infection. At the present day, under the influ- ence of the great development of bac- teriological science and of the services which it has rendered in surgical prac- tice, there is too much tendency to consider, in human and animal medi- cine, only the microbal element, and to neglect the causes of weakness of the organic beings upon which microbe thrives. This means that in the researches pursued regarding foulbrood, it is wrong to confine ourselves to an en- quiry concerning the contagion pure and simple, and to believe that bacter- iology alone may enable us to remedy the trouble, by furnishing us a specific antiseptic treatment. To my mind, a faulty method is fol- lowed by directing the studies in this exclusive way. We should, on the contrary, make efforts to ascertain, in the direction of the bee's organism, the causes of weakness which render it liable to catch the infection. But, in order to be still better under- stood, this proposition needs to be sustained with general considerations and analogical reasoning. Everything holds together in Nature, and that which is correct in general for the dis- eases of man is also correct for the diseases of animals. Thus, when we examine it from the standpoint of the evolution of individ- uals and of races, a disease is but a work of natural selection which arrests the beings of the species on the down- ward slope of natural degenerescence, by compelling them to become puri- fied, to rid themselves of the noxious substances which have accumulate'd in them. It compels them to momentarily cease the usage of bad conditions of Compound Frames for Nuclei at the Mont-Jovet Apiary. existence, which would have quickly brought about their destruction, if these conditions had been permitted to remain in action. Disease, therefore, fulfills a useful role for the preserva- tion and the progress of the race, since it attacks only the beings which are in a state of vital inferiority and causes them to disappear, to leave standing only the robust organisms capable of bringing about the progress of the race. In fact, do we not see that, in man, the acute and chronic infectious dis- eases strike almost exclusively the weak or the degenerates, and that in even the worst epidemics, not every- body is affected, in spite of common contact with virulent microbes ? So, when the epidemic is at last extin- guished, those individuals alone remain who are the most resistant; they are the choice of the work of natural selec- tion, as being the best and the most apt to perpetuate their kind. We see then, that without doubt, the idea of the resistance of the beings is important to view. But what are the principal causes of the waning of the vital forces of organisms ? They are of two opposite orders. There are on one side insufficiencies, that is to say lack of good air, light, motion, etc. And on the other hand we find all the vices and excesses, that is to say over- feeding or the consumption of ele- ments which are unhealthy, toxic, adulterated, artificial, and perhaps over- work. These two opposite, defective modes of living may lead to the same disease, the same infection. Man, for example, may cause himself to become tubercu- lous by lack or excess of food. There is no cause for astonishment in these identical conclusions, since the two modes of life have been equally de- ficient and have led to the same final result; the weakening of the force of vital resistance. The microbe gives no regard to the cause which has pro- duced this weakness ; it is sufficient for it to find the open door; that is to say the absence of organic defenses. All the diseases, and especially the infectious diseases, so-called conta- gious, have a deep cause, non apparent at first sight. They depend much more upon the mode of life followed generally than upon the contamination by viru- lent germs. In what concerns foulbrood, it is es- sential to take note of this fact, of the in- iection coming principally through the lack of resistance of the honey-bee, due perhaps as much to the insuffi- ciency of food and care as to faults in the artificial feeding or the manage- ment of apiaries. It explains why foul- brood may appear as readily in aban- doned apiaries as in enterprises con- ducted with a profusion of caution, often contrary to natural laws and therefore noxious. That which indicates that the ques- tion of resistance is fundamental is that all the microbes are present around us in Nature, whether they ex- ist upon us, in our natural cavities, or around us in the shape of unimportant parasites or sa/'iofhylcs, as they are called in scientific language. It has been ascertained that we carry per- manently, in our nose, mouth and in- 128 April, 1914. American ~Ree Journal testines the bacilli of diphtheria, of tuberculosis, of typhoid fever, for in- stance, and that in spite of this, we are not attacked by these various diseases. But let Qur farces of resistance weaken some day, one of these microbes may begin to multiply in predominancy over the others, become aggressive and complete the ruin of the partly de- crepit organism, before real infection appears. The microbe then passes from the state of latent and unimpor- tant parasite to the state of infection; in such a case they say that from safirop/iyte it has become palhogcne. But the infection which has become unlatched is really only tlie result of a primitive condition of organic deca- dence. The microbes live, therefore, upon the deterioration of the beingi as moss and rottenness grow upon old trees already half dead. This fact that the microbes of most of the infectious diseases exist every- where in Nature explains how foul- jjrood epidemics may arise suddenly in spots where none had been noticed before. There was no need of bring- ing the germs from far away; they were already there from a long time, and they awakened from their sleep only because they found favorable con- ditions to multiply upon bee agglomer- ations existing in a condition of least resistance. The diverse varieties of foulbrood are therefore not essentially diflrerent within themselves, since they only ex- press the development of local races of bacilli. Thus foulbrood, in spite of the bacteriological dissimilarity of races, is essentially a unit. And this unity is due to its being derived from a similar initial weakness of the vital forces of colonies of bees. Must we set aside entirely the reme- dies which are solely anti-contagious and antiseptic, to preserve our bees from foulbrood ? I think so and this is why. An example taken from human medicine will demonstrate it clearly. Thanks to bacteriological science and to anti-microbal preservation measures taken the past 30 years, they have suc- ceeded in restraining the seats of great epidemics: cholera, typhus, plague, dysentery, etc. They have also consid- erably diminished the number of cases of mild infections: measles, scarlatina, diphtheria, etc. But when we con- sider the matter closely and figure it up, what have we gained ? We have prevented Nature from accomplishing her work of selection, which suppresses degenerate individuals through acute diseases. But this law of natural selection is an ineluctable necessity; we cannot in any way avoid it. Unable to express itself by the method of acute diseases, it accomplishes its work under another shape, that of chronic diseases and in- fections. And, in fact, since mankind has preserved itself from acute infec- tions, it has become the prey of de- generescence, insanity and chronic in- fections: tuberculosis and cancer, >yhich, at present, decimate the civi- lized centers and increase in a very alarming and accelerated way. We have thus gained nothing by the change and the unnatural measures that we have taken have turned against us. since they have permitted a host of debilitated beings to remain in action and impede the progress of the race by their unhealthy presence, and by the tainted offspring which they produce. Taking again the analogy with bees, we thus see that if we should succeed in efficaciously combating foulbrood with anti-microbal measures alone, we might preserve our bees almost com- pletely, but we would give rise to other diseases, acute or chronic, which would arise to accomplish the inevitable work of natural selection. The question therefore demands to be taken from another angle. We must, first, seek the causes of degenerescence of the races of bees, the motives of the weakening of the vital forces of colo- nies ; that will be the best means to secure them against destructive epi- demics. What are the principal causes of vital weakness that may be observed among bees? There maybe first the Dr. Carton. lack of care and food, in the case of old abandoned apiaries. We will not discuss this ; it is too well known. But for the large apiaries so well cared for, where is the danger hidden? To my mind, it comes from two preponderant causes. First, alimentation with indus- trial sugar, by feeding either in spring or winter. This food is anti-physio- logic, I have already demonstrated it in the case of man (Les trois aliments meurtriers.— P. Carton, Maloine, Paris, 1 f, 25), and it is a very important cause of the digestive disorders which lead to the worst diseases. It is in fact a chemical product, devitalized and irri- tating, since it is not associated with diastase, with mineral matters and liv- ing energy, like natural sugar contained in fruits or honey. The danger of ali- mentation with artificial sugar is at the present day too much disregarded, as well by doctors as by beekeepers. On either side it will be well to think of it at length and palliate the danger with- in all possible limits. We should be less rapacious towards our bees ; limit their yield; avoid weakening them by uncalled for feeding not in accordance with Nature; not take away from the bees the greatest part of thi-ir supplies. and, in case of necessity, feed with honey kept in reserve, or exceptionally with sugar half mixed with honey, to lessen its noxiousness. There might be much to say also against the intensive and artificial rear- ing of queens. This artificial selection is probably not equal to natural selec- tion. The example of our finest races of domestic animals, selected by the hand of man, is there to prove it. Our finest bulls never have the force of re- sistance to tempestuous weather and to diseases that is shown by wild cattle. To terminate, I will give one more argument in favor of this opinion that foulbrood is due more to a weakness of the organism of the bee than to a microbal contagion. It will be fur- nished to me by the fact that the best treatment of foulbrood, recommended up to this time, is without doubt that whicli has to do almost exclusively with the conditions of the colony and but little with the fight against microbes. In fact, the transferring upon frames simply supplied with foundation and placed in a clean hive body, acts first by giving resistance to the colony, be- cause it places it in the beneficial vital excitement which characterizes natural swarms at the time of hiving. It also acts as a renovator of their organisms by the salutary fasting which it deter- mines. When man applies this pro- cess, he does a useful work, for he imitates the natural processes of reno- vation, by causing an artificial revolu- tion, which is analogous to a diet and to the commotion which would be caused by spontaneous disease. On the other hand, this treatment has but little to do with microbes, since the transferred bees retain within themselves and upon themselves in- fectious germs which again become silent when the colony is again placed in needed conditions of vital renova- tion. As a practical conclusion, iet it be understood that we must not at any time abandon measures of supervision and cleanliness, because we are never entirely certain that the power of re- sistance of our bees is complete. But we must bear in mind, above all things, that the preventive treatment of foul- brood must consist principally in meth- ods of breeding, of cultivation and of nourishment inspired by natural laws, just as curing methods must be under- taken more as a work of renovation of the colonies by transferring than as an anti-microbal fight. Soft Sugar for Baby Nuclei BY C. .S. ENGLE. MR. ARTHUR C. MILLER caused quite a little stir among the bee- keepers when he reported that he had successfully fed damp sugar to colonies of bees that were short of stores. When I came across his arti- cle it "listened " good to me, so I de- cided to try it. Here at home I always keep a few colonies for breeding queens and to build cells. I mate queens in nuclei, and have either used feeders in mat- ing boxes, in which I fed sugar syrup or kept the boxes supplied with combs of honev. After I read Mr. Miller's April, 1914. 129 American Hae Jonrnal article I decided that bees could thrive on damp sugar in southern Texas il they throve on it in Rhode Island. J then set about to make mating boxes with feeders in them suitable for the feeding of damp sugar. Here is a drawing of the mating box that I made with the feeder shown on the left-hand side. This feeder holds about one cup of sugar. The amber sugar that I found in the stores here was very dry; I thought too dry to answer the purpose. The only damp sugar that I could get was sticky, heavy and very dark. With this sugar I did my experimenting. I brought bees home from an out-yard; I shook the bees off the combs into an empty box, covered with wire-cloth, with ripe queen-cells. I placed the mating boxes, filled the feeders with the damp sugar, and at dark I put in the queen-cells and the bees. To get the bees into the boxes I poured w iter over them, shook them down into the bottom of the box and dipped them out with a tea-cup. By morning they had settled down in their new homes and were at work on the sugar n the feeders I suppose the bees get w.iter to dissolve the sugar, for they conveil it into a thick syrup and store it a.vay in the combs. As soon as the bees needed room a frame containing a starter of found i- tion was given to them. They built comb as they needed room for th ir stores and eggs, as soon astheqie as went to laying. It was surely a good sight to look into the boxes and s e the bees building comb, a young q i ■ . n laying her first eggs, and bees diggi ig away in the sugar. Here is one ess ;n- tial point to remember, always l;t the bees have a little extra room, as t will keep them from absconding. .\ e ;der full of sugar will hold the bees as I ng as they have a little surplus room but if they have not the room to exo ind, they will soon have all of the little combs filled with eggs, and they will leavi. There are several reasons why damp sugar is an idealfeedfor mating nuclei ; it stimulates the bees about the same as sugar syrup, but does not excite them nor cause robbing if it is given with proper care; it lasts longer than the same measure of syrup, and will not sour if not taken at once, as the syrup will do. 1 have never fed damp sugar to full C(.lonies of bees. Here the full colo- nies never need feed if they winter wilh good stores, unless a honey dearth comes in the early spring. At such a time I make a syrup by mixing equal pirts, by measure, of sugar and water. I carry the syrup to the bee-yards in honey cans, and pour it into a trough thit holds 30 or 40 gallons. .-X float m.ide of strips of light weight wood is put in the trough for the bees to alight U()on when they take up the syrup. Attjr the trough of feed is ready for the bees I take a vessel of syrup, a coffee pot is best, and raise the cover to each hive and pour in some syrup. The bees come boiling out of the hive at the entrance to see where such a honey-flow is coming from. It is not lo ig before they find the syrup and are soon busy carrying it into the hive and stoiing it into the combs. A yard of 40 strong colonies will be able to carry in 40 gallons in two or thr ;e hours on a warm day. After the syuiphas been taken up,it is best to equa- liz; the stores by " swapping " combs of weak and strong colonies. Taking ev .-rything into consideration, I be- li ;ve that this is the best way to feed b ! .'S for stores in warm weather. Of c lurse, if your neighbor has bees near by you will also feed them. Nearly every bee man has to feed b '.es some time or other, especially the qii len-breeder, and he will have to de- ciile which of the several ways of feed- i ig is the best under the circumstances. No matter how much thought is given to the best plans, when we go to put them into practice something unex- pected comes up to give them a back- set. For this very reason I am sure that all people will not succeed with the damp sugar plan of feeding bees. The ones that do succeed the best will be the closest observers. Beeville, Tex. [Bees do bring in water to dissolve sugar into syrup. For that reason sugar feeding is not profitable for brood-rearing in cool spring weather in northern countries. When vou make sugar syrup, if you use two parts of sugar to one of water, it will not sour readily. The syrup that sours is that which is made too thin. — Editor.] Mr. Enoles Mating Nucleus. The Migratory System vs. the Convertible Hive System BV I. E. H.\ND. IN AN ARTICLE on page 58, I men- tioned some of the distinguishing features of the " convertible hive," and in this article will endeavor to demonstrate some of the advantages of a properly proportioned hive when operated in conjunction with a well organized system. The term "system" as applied to bee-keeping methods im- plies a multitude of conditions intel- ligently formulated into a method that meets the exigencies of the situation, and brings order out of chaos by numerous auxiliary details, all tend- ing toward the one object "system." Depending largely upon a well con- ducted system for success, some apiarists ship their bees to Florida in winter at an enormous expense and no small risk, hoping to treble the number of colonies and return them in time for the harvest. If the hope of a winter harvest is the desideratum in the migratory system, it seems like staking a small fortune on an uncer- tainty, for locations are few where the future harvest can be forecasted with absolute certainty. If the clim- ate is the coveted goal, and feeding is an important part of the program, it is money and time worse than wasted; for no climate and environ- ment is better adapted for winter in- crease by feeding than in Ohio, and no season is so auspicious of success as right at the close of the harvest from basswood when the hives are overflowing with bees and brood. With a properly proportioned hive operated in conjunction with a sys- tem for which it is especially de- signed, there is little excuse for in- curring the expense and risk of an expedition to southern climes, to treble the number of colonies between two honey seasons, for it can be ac- complished at a trifling expense, and no risk, right at home. Acting on the advice to "plant your guns and stand by them," I have formulated a sys- tem operating in conjunction with the "convertible hive," that solves the 130 April, 1914. American Vee'Jonrnal problem of the economical increase o? colonies between two harvests and shatters the universal theory that in- crease is secured at the expense of the honey crop. Here is the system. THE CONVERTIBLE HIVE SYSTEM. Assuming that colonies are in con- vertible hives of 16 frame capacity as described in a former article, as the breeding season opens proceed to develop the fertility of the queens by giving empty combs one at a time as often as needed, placing them next to the brood without spreading the brood combs or disarranging them. J. E. Hand's Convertible Hive. Make the brood nest snug and warm with a close fitting follower, and a warm quilt, see that they have an abundance of stores, and nature will do the rest. The hives face east with the main entrance in the center of the front side, and a small entrance in the south end, to be opened and closed as required. Both entrances are opened and contracted ac- cordingly, to get the bees accus- tomed to using the end one for queen rearing operations. The hives will be pretty well filled with brood and bees by June 1st; there will usually be a few light ones, however, and these are utilized for making nuclei, for every colony must contribute to the production of either honey or Increase. Increase demands queens as well as nuclei, and herein lies the advantage of a hive of suf- ficient capacity to meet the exigencies of the situation. About June 1st, the bees will be gathering sufficient nec- tar to admit of queen rearing, and will be using the end entrance freely. Place five combs of brood and honey well covered with bees, next to the south end of the hive, including the queen, and close them in with a close fitting follower, covering them with a cloth, thoroughly separating them from the colony. Bees having the habit of using the end entrance will continue it and breeding will continue while the parent colony Is engaged in queen cell building. Prepare a sufficient number of cell building colonies to furnish all the queens needed and enough more to make up for losses, for by this method queens cost nothing except a little time. 24 hours later, place in the center of the brood-chamber proper a frame having a cell bar with 4 graft- ed queen-cell cups attached, placing them in the heart of the brood nest. As soon as the cells are capped, ex- change the cell bar frame for the central frame of the nucleus in- cluding the queen. On the 9th day after grafting, as many mating nuclei are formed as desired to increase to full colonies and some to spare for emergencies. These are formed by subdividing the 4 frame nuclei men- tioned, utilizing colonies not strong enough for honey storing, making up the required number by utilizing combs, of brood covered with bees from full colonies not exceeding 4 combs from a colony. All nuclei in- cluding the subdivided ones are placed in separate hives, two combs in each hive, each given a ripe queen cell, closed in with a close fitting fol- lower, covered with a cloth, and the entrance closed for 24 hours, releasing them just before dark through an exit large enough for one bee, en- larging it in two days. We now have twice as many nu- clei with queens as we have colonies, and no colony has less than 12 combs; the deficit is supplied by giving combs or sheets of foundation, placed in the heart of the brood-nest alternating with combs of brood, which will set- tle the swarming question. It is now June 15 and time to put on the top story with 14 extracting combs; these are spaced wider than brood combs. These strong colonies are given plenty of room in the super until about July 15 when the harvest from basswood usually begins to wane, and all supers are removed; meantime the nuclei have been strengthened by giving, to each, two more empty combs, and the four combs are filled with brood and honey, some will be queenless, and will be united with those having queens. Cage the queens in all the nuclei leaving the cages between the combs with the candy-hole exposed, and make up the full quota of 8 wintering combs for each nucleus by taking combs of brood covered with bees from the parent ViEWOFTHE Convertible Hive Arranged FOR Winter Use. colonies, taking 8 combs from each colony. It is now July 20 and if the flowers yield nectar we will have secured a fine crop of surplus honey, trebled the number of colonies, and every colony has its full quota of 8 winter- ing combs well stocked with brood; the parent colonies will be the strong- er in bees on account of old bees returning home, and should have less brood. In case of a late harvest from buckwheat or fall flowers, these will be self supporting, otherwise they will have to be fed for winter. Sept. 15 take an inventory of stock and see to it that every colony is immediately provided with an abundance of winter stores, and snugly packed for winter by the "convertible hive method" out- lined in a former article. It will be noticed that while those who favor the migratory system are waiting for cold weather to enable them to carry out their project at an enormous expense, and no small risk, hoping to treble the number of colonies and return them in time for the harvest, we have trebled our number at home at a triflle of the expense, and no risk, and have them snugly tucked up in their winter nest fully a month before the "migrators" start on their expedition to Southern climes; and it is safe to assume that our bees will be in better condition for the next harvest than theirs will. They are welcome to the winter har- vest in Florida, for what it costs to secure it. Increase of stock is no small part of the profit with this system es- pecially since it costs so little and every hive is a perfect and complete wintering repository without extra equipment. As a rule, however, we favor only 100% increase in connec- tion with a crop of honey for the following reason: It will be noticed that the convertible hive has 16 frames in summer, and S in winter, and less labor will place the 8 ex- tra combs covered with bees into an empty hive, than to brush off the bees and store the combs. If the increase is not wanted it may be sold in the spring, or two colonies placed in one hive, separated by a division-board into two distinct colonies, and the extra hives utilized for the current season's increase; one of the queens and two combs of brood are removed for this purpose at the beginning of clover harvest, and the division removed thus uniting the working force of two colonies in one set of supers during the honey-flow, to be again divided at the close of the harvest from basswood, and wintered as two separate colonies. This method ensures a strong force of workers for the early honey-flow without any at- tention, and the queens are not pushed for high pressure egg laying, and the extra queen is at hand for the division; whether the increase is J sold, or united, the increased pro- '| duction will more than pay for the extra hives in one season. For safe wintering, the 8 combs in- I April, 1914. Itl American Vae Journal eluding the bees are placed in a shell made ot any old % stuff 12 inches wide inside and 12 inches deep, with- out cover or bottom. Place the shell containing the bees and combs, in the center of the hive crossways, bridge the space between the outer and inner entrances, put on the top story, cover the combs, and pour in the chaff, working it down into the spaces with the hand, and fill the hive with packing within an inch of the top; this space is for the circu- lation of air under the cover which keeps the packing dry. This method provides for ZVs inches of packing on each side, 2 inches at each end, and 7 inches on top, with a 3 inch space under the combs, a very desirable feature not found in any other win- tering hive. If one of these colonies is examined from below in the fore- part of winter, the bees will usually be found clustered en masse around the bottom edges of the combs es- pecially if the combs are as full of stores as they should be. Such results as these, however, and similar results along other lines, are possible, only with a hive of sufficient capacity for the development of cor- rect principles. There are several double wall chaff packed hives listed in the different supply catalogues, at prices ranging from $3. .50 to $6.00 but none of them can compete with the convertible hive for perfect winter protection. It costs less to wake a hive of this pattern than an ordinary hive of equal capacity with none of these advantages. The object of this system is to simplify methods, and minimize equipment, and if comb honey is produced it should be in double tier frames holding 8 sections preferably alternated with clean white extracting combs, for locations are tew where exclusive section honey production is advisable. Birmingham, Ohio. No. 2.-Doubling the Yield of Surplus Honey BY G. C. GREINER. WITH the exception of the 4-day ex- perience described in my former article, no steps were taken to apply the established principle to prac- tical use that year. The season being well advanced and no definite plans for any change of management hav- ing been formulated, I finished the season of producing extracted honey in the usual way. But my mtnd was troubled. With the chance of great possibilities constantly looming up before my vision, I occupied my men- tal faculties the rest of the season and a good share of the following winter in studying up and laying plans for next season's operations. When spring opened and the time for actual work in the apiary arrived, I set aside a number of colonies for experimental purposes, not only for extracted honey, but for section-honey also. As the demand for the latter had somewhat increased during the last few seasons, I felt almost as much interested in its production as in my old staple-article of extracted honey. The results of my limited ex- periments of that season exceeded by far all my expectations. The yields of the few comb honey producing colo- nies, which I had set aside for this purpose, were in comparison to my former yields so astonishing, that I decided to manage my entire apiary by that plan the next season. But alas! This world is full of disappointments. The year of 1911 brought me that ever memorable foul- brood campaign. Intead of conduct- ing the continuation and completion of my experiments started the year before, I shook oft" 46 colonies Intro- duced about thirty Italian queens and annihiliated by fire and smoke the entire contents ot those hives. Nearly all the remainder of my yard was more or less affected, but by the ap- plication of less severe treatment and the introduction of more Italian queens I managed to save them and even produced a little extracted honey. I hardly need to tell that nearly all my energy, time and labor had to be concentrated on the extermination of the disease. la this, however, I succeeded so, that I had quite an outfit of healthy colonies the next spring upon which to try my new method. The honey I produced that summer, — the first season I applied my theories to practical use, — brought me per colony, spring count, $23.94 after deducting the expenses for sections, foundations, retail packages and queens. Not bad for a new method. This last season my honey crop did not quite reach those figures, but it averaged over $20.00 per colony. Al- though I took some heavier yields this year from some of my colonies than the year before, quite a number fell behind on account of my being disappointed with my queens. About 50% of them arrived two weeks later than I had ordered them and had planned to use them. This delay in receiving queens caused the same de- lay in breeding-up, which brought the working forces into service two weeks too late for our short clover fiow. My new method, which the two last seasons have proved a decided suc- cess, is based on the following prin- ciples: First, the more we allow and compel our bees to ripen and cap their honey during a honey-flow, the less will be their yield in numbers of Sections in the Four Stages— Photographed by G. C. Gseiner. 132 April, 1914. pounds or, vice versa, the less capping, the heavier the yield. However, cap- ping cannot be entirely provented, but the more we can restrict it the greater the gain. The same principle applies alike to extracted and comb honey. To explain the philosophy of the foregoing assertion I refer the reader to the accompanying photograph. It represents four broad frames, gener- ally called section-holders, filled w-ith four sections each and each of the latter supplied with full sheets of extra thin super foundation and bot- tom starters, in the different stages of development. They wore taken from the supers during and after the buckwheat flow, selected with a view of the desired stages of progress, but otherwise taken as they averaged. So far, there is nothing new in the pic- ture, the same conditions can be found in almost any apiary where comb honey is produced, but the point the picture does not show is this: It takes bees as long to do the work from 3 to 4 as it does from 1 to 3, while the gain in the latter case is 3% lbs. against % lb. of the former. (Al- though these figures are the actual weights of the four frames taken as an illustration, they would vary prob- ably several ounces with any other similar set.) For the full super of 24 sections the difference would be 19% against 4% lbs. It does not require very deep figur- ing to see that when bees are doing the capping from 3 to 4 they are sim- ply wasting precious time of the honey flow. To make the most of the season, bees must not be allowed to do more capping during the honey flow than shown at 3. Less would be more profitable. The stage half-way between 2 and 3, when the combs are fully drawn out and filled, ready for the capping, should be our aim. When this point is reached, it is a simple matter to get unfinished sec- tions like number 3 finished between and after the honey flows. Bees have nothing else to do during these per- iods, and to keep them from "loaf- ing." likely enough study up mischief in the way of swarming, they can be kept busy finishing the work they have begun. Such a term as "un- finished sections," against which our experienced comb honey i)roaucers always caution the beginner, need not be found in the vocabulary of the bee keeper. Every section can be finished, all we need is a good bee feeder and the necessary feeding ma- terial to feed. The bottom row, 4, was finished by feeding after the buckwheat flow had ceased. It will be noticed that those four sections are not fully bound with capi)ed honey. I prefer them that way for the same reasons that Mr. G. M. Doolittle so ably described in a recent article. I therefore need not say anything on this point. If full- bound sections are desired, a little more time on the hives will accom- plish the object. The question, where and how to se- cure the required feeding material American "Bee Journal brings us to the second principle of my method, namely: No apiary can be run for extracted or comb honey exclusively if best results are die- sired. The two must go hand iH hand, one must assist the other. This is as essential, if doubling the yield is our aim, as it is for the dairy man to keep horses. He must have teams to run his dairy farm, just so with the production of honey. If we are comb honey specialists we need a small percentage of our colonies say from 5 to 10%, according to circumstances, to produce the necessary feeding ma- terial, and if extracted honey is our main force, a like number of colonies must be set aside to transform the unripe extracted honey, which will accumulate by my method, into comb honey.. This seems at present the most advantageous use for this pro- duct. The third principle, which my ob- servations have brought out, is this: When the production of extracted honey is our choice, we must see to it that all colonies have empty combs in at least one super at all times dur- ing a honey flow. I firmly believe, that a prime, merchantable quality of this article can be produced only by being ripened and capped on the hive, even If it is done at the expense of a heavier yield. A few empty combs when bees are capping will partially make up this loss. It gives them a continual chance for storing. I am inclined to believe, that a much greater quantity of extracted honey can be taken from a colony by the same method as outlined for the pro- duction of comb honey than by the usual management. Instead of over 500 lbs., which my best colony, spring count, has produced this last season, 1000 lbs. may be reached. This is one of the points I intend to settle the coming season. The fourth principle, and probably the one that brings me in antagonism with many beekeeping friends is the most essential. No bee yard, whether home or out-yard, can be left two. three or more weeks at a time to shift for itself and yield a paying crop. The bee keeper must be with his bees at least once every three or four days, oftener is better. My meth- od, which may be termed "intense management," makes this obligatory. It may seem like spending a great deal of time with our bees and there- fore objectionable. When I explained my management to a beekeeping friend he said: "I consider so much 'fuss- ing' with bees unnecessary." Well, it is unnecessary if we are satisfied with the usual 40 or 50 lbs. But if we wish to double and treble our yield, we have to put forth the effort; the let- alone-plan will not do it. At the same time, this same beekeeper will spend precious time travelling the highway back and forth, day after day, carting bees, hives and material of all kinds from one place to an- other, all hard, unpleasant work, that does not increase the yield of his bees one single ounce, while a little better management of fewer bees would greatly increase his returns. Another beekeeper says: "With the performing of certain operations the work of that ward is done for fifteen days'.' A great mistake! That bee- keeper does not get one-half the reve- nue from his yard, that a little closer attention would secure. In the foregoing I have simply out- lined the skeleton of my method. A detailed rehearsal of management would occupy too much space for this article. It will be given later. La Salle, N. Y. An Unknown Power BY A. F. BONNEY. IN A RECENT number of the "Out- look," ex-President Roosevelt gives an account of his visit to the Hopi Indians in Tusayan, and includes a de- scription of the Snake Dance, in which he makes some remarkable guesses. First, that the venom of the Crotalus of Arizona is not as deadly as that of the rattlers of the South, that the In- dians dope the snakes, or have a power over them similar to that " some men have over bees." He asserts he knew a man who had this power over rattle- snakes, and could handle them with impunity, which was an odd claim for a man of Mr. Roosevelt's mental cali- ber, for no man alive ever had any "power" over the cold-blooded ani- mals other than that attained by "tam- ing " them. I have in my short time on earth known three of these " Snake Charm- ers," and all of them were bitten re- peatedly, and one died. These reptiles were so stupid they did not know one person from another, and I handled some of them as freely as did the owner, but not long at a time. As to an unknown power possessed by some men over bees, I think the statement will make all beekeepers grin. I did, while I have much respect for Mr. Roosevelt and his attainments. I, 15 years ago, spent a good deal of time in Tusayan, the home of the Pu- eblo Builders, as we call them, the remnant of a civilization older, I firmly believe, than ancient Egypt, or older than the Garden of Eden. From the evidence to be found on every side I believe our great southwest was in- habited as early as was any part of Eurasia. In the lava on the mountain side are the remains of a house. This flow of melted rock was cold untold ages ago. The Cliff Dwellings were deserted when Coronado with liis sol- diers went north seeking tlie Seven Cities of Cibola, as was the Casa Granda, a communal house so old that even the present inhabitants of the country have no tradition of its build- ers. I have seen the Snake Dance twice, and both times saw Indians struck by rattlers, and the men did not quit the dance, yet, believe me if you can, an hour later there was hardly a mark to show where the fangs went into the llesh. A reason for it ? There must be a cause for all tilings. Having never seen the Indians catching the snakes. April. 1914. American 'Ree Jonrnal j while I do know the reptiles, I am in- clined to the opinion that the snakes are tired out by teasing, their poison sacs utterly exhausted, so that when they do make the rare blow there is little or no venom back of it. The venom of the Crotalus family is so deadly that there is no such a thing as making a man immune, as I believe he can be rendered immune to the poison of the bee. Buck Grove, Iowa. [In the article which friend Bonney criticizes, ex-President Roosevelt says exactly: "I believe that one element in the matter is that the snake priests either naturally possess or develop the same calm power over these serpents that certain men have over bees; the latter power, the existence of which is so well known, has never received the attention and study it deserves." That many men can handle bees with almost certain impunity is a fact. I never belonged to that class. I have been in the apiary with men who would stand their ground when I was compelled to withdraw. I have seen men open hives of cross bees and the neighbors 4 or 5 rods away would have to retreat, while the operator himself did the manipulating to the end. That he was stung occasionally I know, but that he could do many things with bees which I could not do with impunity is also true. A man may be trained, or as Roosevelt says, " develop calm power over bees," yet there is something in some men which makes them succeed better in this than others. An old gentleman in our vicinity. Uncle John Wright, longago deceased, used to amuse the young people by in- viting dozens of them to his home in long winter evenings and practicing " magnetism," or what the French call "suggestion" upon them. I did not believe in this queer power until he told me that he was sure I could do the same thing myself. I tried and suc- ceeded. I have since found that it is "hypnotism," that hypnotism is a branch of psychology. There is not so much in it as some people would have us believe. Very certainly there is not so much in hypnotic power over bees, as some persons imagine. However this same Uncle John Wright told me that it was practical to hypnotize the bees, that if after opening a hive, with- out smoke, but carefully, I should boldly lay hands over them, as they appeared at the top of the combs. I would see them retreat and finally be- come submissive. I tried it but failed ignominiously. But an apiarist who was at the time working for me in the apiary, and who was noted for his re- markably slow ways, tried it after I did and succeeded. We gave notice of it in paragraph 385 of our latest edition of the Lang- stroth-Dadant book. I have since oc- casionally succeeded in causing the bees to retreat before a "laying of hands," but I would not urge any one to depend upon it. Bees once aroused become very vindictive. I believe that the beekeeper in such cases should do what the Indians are reported to do, by Mr. Roosevelt, in this remarkable article, try to soothe them as the In- dians try to soothe the snakes. But the procedure is very difTerent in the one case from what it must be in the other. I have seen it stated, years ago, that the poison of the bee. if it existed in as large quantities as the poison of the rattle-snake, would be more deadly than the latter. I do not remember the authority, but it was stated that the poison of the snake could be taken with impunity within the digestive or- gans while that of the bee could not. This is a matter for doctors and scien- tists to pass upon. But if inoculation has achieved such prodigies, in the prevention of small-pox, or chicken cholera, of hydrophobia, etc., why could it not have effect in the case of rattle-snakes ? We know positively that we become almost immune to the bee- poison. I, myself, cease swelling after a few days of beekeeping. — Editor.] Beekeepers I Have Known— "Edward G. Brown" BY FRANK C. PELLETT. ED BROWN came into intimate con- tact with the bees early in life; for when he was 2 years of age he went out and sat on a hive and began drumming with his heels. A short time later he was picked up by a kindly disposed neighbor woman who took him to the house, picked out the barbs and rubbed him down to some- thing near his normal size. The mis- chief was done, however, for the formic acid was in his blood, and he was started on his life work. The senior Brown was a pioneer beekeeper, and one of the first to take up the business on an extensive scale in this section. When Ed's mother came home as a bride she found a few colonies of bees in box-hives. When toward winter, her husband following the custom of the time, brimstoned the heaviest colonies over a pit, she pro- tested that there must be a better way; that the surplus honey should be secured without killing the bees. Mr. Brown contended that it was as neces- sary to kill the bees to get the honey as to kill an animal to get the meat. She was not satisfied, and soon after \yas attracted by an advertisement of a little journal devoted to bees. That same winter she became a disciple of A. I. Root, and purchased a few sim- plicity hives. The following season the Browns secured a phenomenal honey crop and increased their colo- nies proportionately. At this time the family were engaged in the dairy busi- ness near the present home of the younger Brown, and had considerable capital invested in a cheese factory. This was before the days of fenced pastures, and everybody's cattle ran at large. About this time the dairy busi- ness was ruined by low prices and an epidemic among the cattle of the Kdvvard G. Bko\\ X. neighborhood. The elder Brown turned his attention seriously to his bees, and from that time until his death was an extensive honey producer. At the age of 16 the subject of our sketch left high school and took imme- diate charge of the apiaries belonging to his father. He increased the num- ber of colonies from about 300 to 500, and produced honey by the carloads, some seasons getting in the neighbor- hood or 20 or more tons. He has kept bees constantly since that time. While still one of the youngest among them, he is one of about a half dozen of the biggest honey producers of Iowa. Aside from his business as a honey producer, he is associated with others in a large honey-marketing business in Siou.x City, handling not only the product of the apiaries of the persons interested in the business, but doing a large jobbing business as well. Mr. Brown's home and family life seem to be ideal. Besides Mrs. Brown there are the two boys growing up to be beekeepers. Atlantic, Iowa. The Bees' Product. — The following is from the April Gas Review : " The bees are the greatest workers in the world. In this country alone, during the past year, three hundred billfOn bees pro- duced enough honey to fill a train of cars long enough to reach from New York to Buffalo." American T^ee Journal April, 1914. )^— '^^I^^B' J Dr. MillerIs Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Mii.i.ER. Marengo. III. He does not answer bee-keeping questions by mail. Best Metnod of Increase As I am only 25 miles from you. please rec" ommend the best method of iinrcjsc and still get a crop of honey for our locality. Have your " Forty Years Among the Bees." Illinois. Answer.— There are so many different circumstances and conditions that it is not easy to say what one system is best. What is best one time may not be best another. In the book you mention the matter of increase is discussed as fully, at least, as in any book I know of. After a careful study of what you find there, you will be able to decide for yourself better than I could decide for you. If, however. I were obliged to confine myself to any one plan, with the idea of interfering little with the honey crop. I think it would be the nucleus plan. With that you can make much or little increase, and you need not draw from one colony enough to hinder it from doing fair work in supers. But if by " still get a crop of honey " you mean to get as much as if you got no increase, I don't be- lieve you can make it in your location. That only happens where there is an important fall flow, Large Hives in Winter Some beekeepers advocate taking out the two outside frames in an 8-frame hive and putting in their place chaff-filled dum- mies for wintering. Now that leaves only six frames in the hive for the colony to win- ter on. You advocate a very much larger hive, and some eo so far as to advocate a 17- framehive. What do you do with all the large space in your hive in the winter; or, in other words, what would you do with it if you wintered your bees on the summer stands ? . , , 2, How can I manage with my o-frame hives and give them plenty of stores for winter and spring and yet have room for two chaff dummies at the outside ? 3, Would you use these dummies or would you use two frames of sealed honey in their stead ? Nebraska. Answers.— I. We rarely reduce our hive n the winter. However, with our large hives, dummies may be put on each side of the frames leaving an ample supply. 2 and 3, With hives of the size you men- tion, we would put the sheltering dummies on the outside. In other words, we would leave in the hive all their frames, if filled with honey, and we would place windbreaks or packing of some kind on the cold sides, leaving the front or south side exposed. This method which has given us satisfaction may not be suitable for damp countries or for countries much farther north. Each climate requires methods adapted to it. Bee-Escapes^Best Bees— Splints, Etc. 1. I run my bees for extracted honey. How can I free the supers of bees without liaving to brush every comb? I do not care to use the Porter bee escape board if there is any other way. 2. In making a few special crosses can 1 not lake a colony with special drones, also the nuclei with virgin queens late in the evening and pat them in a dark cellar, keep- ing them there until all drones have stopped flying on the following day, and then bring my colony of special drones and nuclei out for a flight, repeating this several limes if necessary ? Will this plan work ? \ What plan do you use in rearing queens at the present ? 4. What race of bees will gather the most honey regardless of faults ? 5. Can I put frames with full sheets of foundation between two combs and get good worker combs that are not stretched too much at the top; I mean without wiring? 6. Is there any danger of getting too much water in the honey when uncapping knives are kept in boiling water, using first one knife and then another? 7. Do you know of any two beekeepers who think exactly the same about anyone subject concerning bees? 8. Would you consider a location where bees start to swarming the last of April and continue until about the middle of July a bad location? Virginia. Answers.— I. You could use some other escape, as the Miller tent-escape. It con- sists of a robber-cloth with a cone of wire- cloth centrally located. 2 Yes, this plan has been in use for a good many years, yet it is not very generally fol- lowed if I am not mistaken. You should feed the bees when you set them out, so as to start them to flying. 3. The same I have used for years, as given in "Fifty Years Among the Bees" and in previous numbers of this journal. The col- ony with the best queen is allowed to build comb, the queen laying in this virgin comb, which is then given to a queenless colony. 4. Probably none will exceed the Italians, although others may do as well, and with the right kind of care and selection hybrids may do as well as pure stock. 5. You may by using foundation splints or very heavy foundation. Even then you will not always get the best results between two drawn-out combs, for too often these combs will be bulged into the comb between them. 6. Practically no danger, 7. Yes, lots of them. But I am not sure I know any two beekeepers that think alike on . Then one of the ways of fastening the wire in the foundation is with the spur wheel, during the work in a very warm room, so the foundation will be soft. If you have no kerf in top-bar. then run melted wax along the joint between the foundation and top-bar. I don't want to tell how to put in 5-inch starters, because I don't want to use them. No economy in it. You will have entirely too much drone comb. " You're going to put them in anyhow?" Oh, all right, then. Put them in exactly the same as full sheets. Stimulative Feeding 1, I want to have my bees strong enough at the beginning of clover bloom iwhich begins here about June 5 to 10: to fill two lo-frame dovetailed bodies. My bees will have plenty of good sealed white honey. Can I gain any- thing by feeding sugar syrup ? 2. If so. what proportion of water would you recommend to the suear ? Wisconsin, Answers —I. I believe good honey is bet- ter food for bees than sugar syrup. Hence, other things being equal, to get them to take sugar in place of honey would be a damage. There are places where there is such a dearth between fruit bloom and honey that brood-rearing ceases entiiely, even with abundance of honey in the hive. In such a place it pays to feed enough to keep up brood-rearing. Even then, it is better to feed honey than sugar, or to scratch or un- cap the combs of sealed honey. But I don't believe you have that kindof place in your part of Wisconsin. It there is abundance of honey in the hive, and it there is as much brood in the hive as the bees can cover, what can you possibly gain by feeding ? 2 If the bees should run short of stores early in the season, and for lack of good honey you should be obliged to feed sugar syrup, use equal parts of sugar and water, either by weight or measure. Foul Brood? — Probably Starvation I have 16 colonies of bees; had 20 last spring, but on account of late frost killing the early flowers, they did not begin rearing brood until very late in the spring, and the honey flow was almost a complete failure. In August something went wrong with the brood in nearly all of my colonies; probably it was foul brood. The brood would do fine and seem to be getting along all right until just a few days before hatching when the bees would begin carrying it out. Almost all of the brood would still be alive when car- ried out. It could not haycbeen American April, 1S14. American Hee Journal foul brood, as there was no odor, and the cell caps did not turn dark and sink as in European foul brood; and it could not liave been fwr want of room, as the hives were not near full of brood and honey. West Virginia. Answer.— It looks like a pretty plain case of starvation. You say thei'C was plenty of room, the fiives were " not near full of brood and honey." and my guess is that they ran out of honey altogetlicr. and the bees dragged out of the hives the while skins of the larv:e after sucking out the juices. You say the most of the brood wou d be alive when dragged out. There would hardly be any young workers that would show sii;ns of life, for the bees woukl suck out the iuices before tliey were old enough for that; but they would tear open the drone-cells .Hid drag out young drones tliat could crawl. Snow— Swarming— Cellar Feeding 1. Is it necessary to keep snow and ice swept away from the entrance of hive ? 2. Is it a good plan to have the queens' w iugsclipped to prevent loss of swarms ? t- What time do bees generally swarm ? 4. What can one do to stop mice from en- tering the hives in the winter time ? 5. What time can bees be fed that are wintered in the cellar ? New York. Answers.— I. As long as it remains dry and hard, a little snow at the entrance is not likely to do any harm. But if it becomes wet and soft, filling the entrance and then freezing, it may do harm, so it should be clfeared away before it has a chance to freeze. Not that there is special harm from the freezing, only that it allows the entrance to remain closed. 2 Yes, excellent. 3. In your vicinity the most of the swarm- ing is likely to occur in ,]une. ? A good way is to close the entrance with wirecloth having three meshes to the inch. That allows the bees free passage but bars the mice. 5. Any time rather than have them swarm ; but the feeding should all be done before putting in cellar. p Uniting— Shake Swarming— Bee Trees 1. In the American Bee Journal for Feb- ruary, on page d2. you state in your answer to"Slaine," that a safe way to unite two colonies is to place one on top of the other with paper between them. Can I do this without killing one of the queens? 2. If there is a queen in each colony, do they live together ? \. What is meant by a shake swarm ? 4. My bees are coming in from the fields with their legs loaded with pollen, and there is nothing in bloom here but red elm and a few little wild Howers. Do you think they will work on red elm ? s. I have a bee tree near my house con- taining a large swarm of pure Italian bees that got awiy from me last May; the tree is of no value. How should I proceed to save the bees and when should I cut the tree ? 6. When is the proper time to sow white and sweet clover seed ? Oklaho.ma. Answers— I. Yes, if you have no choice as to queens you can leave it to the bees to settle the matter. 2. No; one or other of the queens will be killed. 3. When the bees are shaken or brushed from their combs, and all the combs, or all but one of them, are taken away, that is called shaking a swarm, and the bees left in the hive are called a shaken swarm. 4. I think bees work on any of the elms. They may also be working on something else that you know nothing about. Bees can beat ushamansa long way at finding nectar or pollen. 5. If the tree stands out. away from other trees, you will cut it down same as any tree, and take your chance of the combs bein«i mashed to pieces. If other trees are near, perhaps you can fell it against one of them in such a way as to break the fall. Or, pos sibly you can by means of ropes attached to other trees soften the fall. Then you can saw or chop off the tree above and below where the bees are, and take the loghive home, or you can split open the tree and cut out the combs and fasten them in the frames of a proper hive. The best time to operate was last fall as soon as the bees stopped storing As it is too late for that now, wait for warm weather in the spring when bees Hy freely. 6. When farmers in your vicinity sow red clover, aisike. or alfalfa. Report from Tennessee Bees are wintering nicely so far. 1 have 28 colonies. Last year we had a dry season and pasture was short until sourwood came in bloom. My crop of honey was light, about 40 pounds to the colony, I use 8-frame hives. Athens. Tenn. J. W Carter. Hauling Bees With Entrances Open I have about loo colonies of bees, but as I am afraid to risk more than 20 or 25 colonies in one place for fear of overstocking the range, I have a considerable amount of haul- ing to do in locating out-apiaries in the spring and bringing the bees in to winter. Almost all men advocate the idea of stop- ping the bees' entrances so they cannot get out, I have been hauling bees for 8 years, and I never stop the entrances up, and I always haul in the day time if I am not crowded with some other work. I generally load my bees at night or after a shower of rain, in order not to lose the field bees, but in both instances I smoke the bees good before I start out on my journey, and I never have had any trouble. If I make a stop it is necessary to smoke the bees be- fore starting again Of course you can't stop very long or your bees will come out and go to work. I bought 6 colonies in box hives from a man who lives about 18 miles away, and when I went after them they were at work on the elm buds, so I smoked them, loaded tfiem. and got home safely, though I had lost the top from two of the hives 1 don't think that I ever saw a quieter bunch of bees. Wingate, Tex. L. L. Allen. Giving Bees Water I have received so much help from read- ing good articles contributed by many bee- keepers that I wish to offer what I can in return. We lose many bees by drowning while they take water from ponds and water tanks, and the drier and hotter the weather the more water the bees must have. In times of drouth they become a nuisance around the stock tanks. Most water tanks are now made of steel and with vertical sides, making a death trap for the bees by drowning. We dislike to see so many of them drown, or to have them bother our neighbors. I finally hit on the following watering device; 1 took an oak barrel and sawed it in two in the center. The half barrel made my watering device. I tacked burlap sacking material all over the tub. allowing it to hang inside loosely, so when the tub was empty the burlap covering hung almost to the bot- tom of the tub. Just before 1 finished tack- ing on the covering. I put a sealed Mason jar inside the tub and under the burlap for a float to keep the burlap on the surface of the water. The bees began to use water from the tub at once, and ceased to bother our stock tank. They liked this watering device so well that it was just like a swarm at all times. They took away probably 20 gallons every day during the hot dry summer. The tub was located about 100 yards from an api- ary of 225 colonies. Not a bee was drowned at this tub. and they also quit bothering my neighbors' water tanks. H. C. Gadberry. Miami. Mo. Trying Hand's Method I made up a couple of hives according to Mr. Hand's latest, and put them to work in the hope that they will solve my wintering problem in this province. A local bee-man told me a few days ago that 20 years ago a Scotsman called Robertson, now long dead, worked out the same scheme for "Victoria, and swore by it. I will report how it be- haves with me. F. Dundas Todd. Victoria. B. C. Feb. 25. Note from British Columbia I imagine I see some of the veteran bee* men smiling at the rapid increase a begin- \i iV if Snow-bound Apiary of H. C. Gadberry, at Miami, Honey-house in the back-ground. Mo. 136 I -^^jgl, <( American Hee Jonrnajj ner can make up here in tliis part of Can- ada, as given in my communication on page 38u of ttie American Bee Journal lor Novem- ber. I'H}. Instead of " increased from one to one liundred and live in twoyears. " it should read "increased from one to one hundred and live in two years and tew monlliu" which practically means tlirec seasons. I have gotten over the increase fever, and last season I employed a practical apiarist to run my bees for honey, as 1 had had prac- tically no experience in honey producing, and thought I could learn something. 1 did, but 1 did not get as much honey as 1 antici- pated, owing principally to weather condi- tions. I have been working for a cross between the Italian and Carniolans, which. 1 think lor this climate, are just right. I have had some beautiful golden Italians, which would come out fairly strong in the spring, but would dwindle along all spring ami do prac- tically nothing all season; on the other hand my pure Carniolans Wept me busy either dividing or hiving swarms. In crossing. 1 supplied about lo Italian queens to one Carniolan. which proportion 1 found necessary to keep an equal tiivision of blood, 'i hose crosses produced comb honey last season, which was beautiful, being well filled and the cappings snow white. My assistant, an Englishman who has several medals won for comb-honey production in his home land, said some of this comb would be hard lo beat anywhere. 'X'he bees are fairly gentle, and if they are in any kind of fair shape in the spring, the apiarist need have no fears of spring dwind- ling. D. E. McDonald. Rutland. B. C. Feb. i6. Prospects Favorable in Washington We have had a very mild winter. At no time has the ground been frozen deeper than about one inch. There has been very little sunshine during the past three months, and an anusual amount of precipitation, some of It in the form of snow, but the greater part rain. While the weather has been mild, still there have been few days with sufficient sunshine and warmth to coax the bees out. and at this date. March i, they are in appar- ently fine shape, with the greater part of their winter stores untouched and ready to be transformed into countless workers for the coming harvest. Practically all bees here in the Yakima Valley are on the same stand summer and winter, and usually with- out added protection for the winter months. They will consume from 15 to 20 pounds more honey than the colony in a cel- lar in Illinois or Iowa. Our greatest winter trouble, as it appears to me. is too many summer days in the winter months, days when the bees will convert a lot of good honey into unprofitable and mis- directed energy, such as scrapping with their neighbor or hangingaround the grocer- man's back door. The past winter has had very few sum- mer days, and all of the beekeepers that I have talked with report their bees in splen- did shape. While it is too early to count the chickens, yet we are encouraged when we know that th(! old hen Is sitting on fertile eggs. A. E. BURDICK. Sunnyside. Wash.. March 2. Loss of 4 Out of 208 Colonies Bees have wintered nicely here, only lost a out of 208 colonies wintered on the summer stands. The weather is warm, and the bees are pretty busy now. I saw some carrying in pollen yesterday, but do not know where they got it. We have had plenty of rain, so we lowk for a good crop again this year. Delta. Colo. Geo. F. Lester. To Missouri Beekeepers I accepted an invitation from Dr. L. Hase- man. the entomologist at our Experiment Station, to come over during farmers' week to have a bee-meeting there. I found there my old friend. E. J. Baxter, of Nauvoo, 111,. whom I was pleased to meet again. The ap- pointed meeting came off with a very good audience, and Dr. Haseman gave a splendid talk on bees and their different races, and the various kinds of aiipliances used: after which the writer also had a lengthy talk, and friend Baxter made a most interesting and profitable si)eech. The beekeepers in the audience asked questions and showed that they were interested. Dr. Haseman has taken up bee-culture a the station, to teach the pupils who are in- terested. He had some ten members in his class last season, and expects perhaps to double that number this time This work is taken up towards spring They have a few bees at the station, for demon- stration only. Our State association is in- terested in this work, and we want to give it all the encouragement possible, as we hope it may be of much help in time, more especially to the young generation, as they enter life's duties. We may have some great beekeepers coming from this work. We hope so. The committee appointed to investigate the matter of incorporation for our State Beekeepers' Association are at work with their duties, and the secretary. Mr. Diemer. writes me that he hopes to succeed, but we must have more help than we now have, otherwise it would put considerable bur- den on a few. for it takes some expense to incorporate. A great numberof beekeepers of the State will see this. Now won't you send your membership fee right away to the writer, or. better still, to the secretary. Mr. I. F. Diemer. of Liberty, Mo.? It is only $100, and you owe it to yourself, as well as to the bee-industry of the State, to help the cause. Our State has a splendid record as a honey- producing State, but we do not have the membership we should have in ourassocia- tion. We hope lo get a better appropriation to do inspection work, to eradicate foul- brood which is gaining fast in the State, as we have not had enough inspectors in the field. Then we hope to get enough appro- priation to publish our reports and give much valuable knowledge and information on beekeeping. Many other States are doing this, and Missouri should not be left behind. It depends largely upon you. dear reader: do not let others bear the burden and take no part in it yourself. If many do their duty it will not be a burden on any one May we not hope you will do your part. 1, W. Roi'sE. Prcs. Missouri Slutc lictkit:l'Crs' AssiH iatiifri. An Entrance Stopper Here is the kind of an entrance stopper I use: Rip off a piece of pine board H inch thick and 14/4 inches lony. Cut a rtiece of wire-cloth 6x14 '4 inches and bend it V shape. Put a strip of wood !jx%xi4'1 between the two edges and tack both sides. When the entrance is closed with this stopper the bees can get plenty of air. Elizabeth. III. Henry Price. Henry Price's Entrance Closer. Classified Department [Advertisements in this department will be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- counts of any kind . Notices here cannot be less than two lines. If wanted in this de- partment, you must say so when ordering. BEES AJSTD QUEENS. Queens, improved Red Clover Italians, bred for business, June i to Nov, 15. Un- tested Queens, Tsceach: dozen, S8. 00; Select. Ji. 00 each; dozen. Jio. Tested Queens, $1.25; dozen, $12, Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. H. C, demons, Boyd. Ky. For Sale— Choice Golden Queens that produce Golden bees equal to any. Wm. S. Barnett. Barnett's. Virginia. PhelI'S' Golden Italian Queens will please you. Bees anu Queens from my New Jersey • piary, J. H. M. Cook. lAlf 70 Cortland St.. New 'it j. Golden all over Queens. Untested. $1.00. Tested. $3 00, Breeders. Js.oo and $ii>. 2Atf Robert Inghram. Sycamore. Pa. WAN'tEii— To sell untested queens from my Superior Strain of Clover Italians in (luantilics I. F. Miller. Brooksville. Pa. 1014 Queens— Moore's strain of leather colored Italians. In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address. Ogden Bee & Honey Co.. Ogden. Utah. Italian Queens— Bees by lb. Descriptive List free. Apiaries under State inspection. Leaflets. " How to Introduce Queens." 15c. " How to Increase." 15c; both. 25c. 2Ait E. E. Mott.Glenwood. Mich. Queens— 10 percent discount for orders received before May I. to be filled in May and June. Tested. $1.00: untested 75c. Dead ones replaced free. 2Aot S. Click. Rt. 2. Box II.. Mt. Jackson. Va, PnELi's' (iolden Italian Bees are hustlers. California's Golden and .i-banded equal the best. Try them March i. No. culls. Tested. $1.2=; to $2.50. Select mated, one. 75C; 12. S8.U0: 50. $12: 100. $60. W. A. Barstow it Co., San Jose, Calif, Italian Queens, .li-banded. forsale. Ready April 15. Untested queens. 75c each, or $7.25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. I'alley. Queen Breeder. 3Atf Rt. 4. Greenville. Ala. Queens bred from Moore's and Doolittle's best Italian slock. Untested, due eacli; Jb.Oo per dozen: $50 per 100. Tested, yoc each; iio. 20 per dozen; $80 ner 100. Delivery guar anteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity: 2-frame. Si. So; 3-trame. $2,00. Add price of above queen wanted. Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff. Calif. April, 1914. American lee Journal] Italian Queens after May i. Virains. 25c. Mated, vic. Please book orders < weeks early lohn Robbins, Mesilla Park. N. Mex. Ready alter Atiril 20. Good Italian Queens, Tested. $1 uo; untested, 7;c. Satisfaction Kuaranteed. G. W. Moon, igoa Adams .St , Little Rock, Ark. Italian Bees in lo-fr. dov. hives. Moore's strain, eood condition, warranted free from disease, Sti.fo per colony. N. P Anderson, Eden Prairie, Minn. Pure Golden Queens, the best that twelve years can produce. L'ntested. $1.50 each. Select tested. Si 00 each Breeders, fi.oo to $50. Send for booklet on "Bees and Dis- eases." Geo. M. Steele, JO South 40th St., Philadelphia, Penna Golden Queens that produce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal- lenge the world on my Goldens and their honey-getting Qualities. Price, 81.00 each; Tested, $,:.oo: Breeders, $5.00 and $10.00. 2Atf J. B. Brockwell, Barnetts, Va. ' iSTRONG colonies of Italian bees with tested Italian queen in complete new hive, iio. Nucleus colony. $4.00. Tested Italian queen, $1.50. Write for prices on quantity. I. .). Stringham. 105 Park PI., New York, N. Y. Apiaries: Glen Cove. 1.. I. Queens ready in May, J. E, Hand strain of three-banded Italians. Bred for gentle- ness, honey gathering, wintering, and long life. Write for price-list and free booklet, " How to Transfer." Get honey and increase. 4Ait J. M Gingerich, Arthur, 111 The Bankston Bees and Queens are as good as the best. Golden. Three-band and Carniolan. Tested. $1.00 each; untested, 75c. Queens ready to ship April 15. Bees, per pound, $1.50. Nuclei, per frame. Si. 50. Write us for prices on large lots of queens. Try us and be pleased. Bankston A; Lyon, Box 141. Buffalo, Tex. Golden and 3-banded Italian and Carnio- lan queens, ready to ship after April isl. Tested. $:.oo; 3 to 0, 05c each ;6 to 12 or more, DOC each. Untested, 75c each; 3 to (', 70c each; 6 or more, 65c. Bees, per lb., $1.50; Nuclei, per frame, $1.50. C. B. Bankston. Buffalo. Leon Co.. Tex. We requeen our bees every year with best Italian stock to prevent swarming. We offer the one-year old queens removed from these hives at 50c each; $5.40 per doz. ; $40 per 100 L)eiivery guaranteed. Book orders now. Nuclei any quantity; 2-frame. $1.50; 3-frame, $2.00. Add price of above queens wanted. Spencer Apiaries Co., Nordhoff, Calif. Dunn's Golden Italian queens, bred strictly for business that produce a strong race of honey gatherers. March i to Oct. 15 One, mated, 7=;c: 6. t4.2^; 12, J8.25; 50. $32.50; 100, $(>o. L, J. Dunn, Queen Breeder. ' 2AQt Box 337 G, R. R. 6, San Jose. Calif. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated. $1.00; six. $5.00; Tested, $3 00: Breed- ers, $5.00 and $10 C. W. Phelps t^ Son, 3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton, N. Y. For Sale— Moore strain and Golden Ital- ian queens. L'ntested. $r 00; 6, $5,00; 12, $0 00. Carniolan, Banat and Caucasian queens; Se- lect Untested, $1.25; 6, $600; 12, $10. Tested, any kind, $i.5u; 6. $8.00, Choice Breeders, $3,00 to $5 no Circular free, W'. H. Rails. Orange. California. California Italian Queens — 3-banded and Goldens by return mail after March 15 Select untested, one. 75C; 12, $8,oe. Test- ed, Si. 00; breeder, $3.00. Bees by the pound, a specialty, ready April I. i lb., $1.35; 2 lb , I2.50. Delivery and satisfaction guaranteed. Correspondence solicited. Circulars free. J. E. Wing, 155 Schieler Ave., San lose, Calif, Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens. Ready March i. They have been bred for three points, proliticness, gentleness and honey gathering qualities Prices, Select Untested. 75c each; 6, $4.25; 12. $8 25; 50, $32.50; 100, $60. Tested. $150, Select Tested. $2.00. Garden City Apiary Co., R. R, 3, Box 86, San Jose. Calif. Quirin's Famous improved Italian queens are northern bred and extremely hardy; over 20 years a breeder. Colonies, Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H. G. Quirin, The Queen Breeder, Bellevue. Ohio. For Sale— 3-banded Italian queens, nuclei and bees by the pound. Being large honey- producers, we breed hustlers. Untested queens, each, 75c; tested, $1,25. Without queens, i pound of bees. $1 25; 2-frame nu- clei. $2 50. Write for a complete price list. 2.Atf Brown & Berry, Hayneville, Ala. Famous North Carolina Bred Italian Queens for sale red clover i-banders). Hon- ey-gatherers good as the best. Strictly reared from Geo. B. Howe's best breeders; maled with Root's, Moore's, E)avis' Select Drones; bees that get the honey. Free from disease. Untested, one, 75c; per doz., $7. so. Select untested, one. $1 00; per doz., S'j.oo. Tested, one, $125. Select tested. Si. 50. Ex- tra select tested. S2 00 Breeders. $3 co and $5.00, H. B. Murray. Liberty. N. C. ThkkkBanded Italian Queens. Before .lulv isl. untesied, one, $1,00; b, $5.00; 12, $g,oo. Select untested, one. Si. 25; 6, $6,25; 12. $11. After July ist. untested, one, 75c; h, S4.00; 12. $700, Select untested, one, $1.00; 6. $5 00. 12. $8.50. Qne-frame nuclei, 75c; 2-frame, $1 50; 3-frame, $2.2=;. To each nucleus add price of Queen. Our Queens are reared in a locality where there has never been disease, and reared from strong vigorous colonies. The apiary is under most com- petent supervision. Safe arrival and satis- faction guaranteed. Horner Queen & Bee Co., Ltd . Youngsville. Pa. HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey." Sample for stamp. Null Co., Demopolis, Ala Wanted — Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax. R. A, Burnett & Co., 6Ai2t 173 S. Water St., Chicago, III. For Sale— No i whitecomb, $3 00 per case fancy, $3 25; 24 Danz. sec. to case, and 6 case; to carrier. Wiley A. Latshaw. Carlisle. Ind. For Sale— 400 lbs. good Buckwheat Honey in 5-lb, pails; well ripened. Will take $30 for the lot to clean up for the season. M. C, Silsbee, R. D. 3. Cohocton, N, Y. Comb Honey wanted all the time; also cheese, potatoes, onions, cabbages, beans and fruits. W. W. Marmaduke, Washington. Ind. For Sale— Choice extracted honey, thick, well ripened, delicious flavor. Price, oc per pound in new 60-lb. cans. Address, 2Atf J. P. Moore, Morgan, Ky. Dealers and producers who buy honey kindly ask for a late number of the Review, giving a list of members having honey for sale. Many carloads are listed in each num- ber. Address. The Beekeepers' Review. Northstar. Mich. $1000 one thousand). I will pay the above amount in cash for one pound of honey that is equal to my /v^'(/ A*//*- (Harnessed .Sun- beams) Honey in digestibility, nutrient, value or flavor. Samples and prices free C. W. Dayton, Owensmouth, Calif. Extracted Honey — Best pure Illinois, White Clover and blends with Sweet Clover. Amber Fall and Spanish-needle grades. Also fine Western Water-white and Light Amber Alfalfa. All packed in 5, 10 and 60 !b. cans Some in barrels. Samples and prices Free. Dadant & Sons. Hamilton, III. SUPPLIES. For Sale — Root's goods and Dadant's foundation at factory prices. Spencer .Apiaries Co., Nordhoff, Calif. Bee-Keeper, let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co.. *Atf Greenville, Tex. Better Hives for Less Money— Bee keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital ian bees. Write for catalog. A. K. Burdick, Sunnyside, Wash, The a. I. Root Co.mpanv's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation. Poultry, Sup- plies, Seeds. Write for catalog. TheChas. K. Hopper Co., 18; Wright Ave.. Toronto. Ont. For Sale— New 10 frame hive bodies in flat; made of white pine; corners halved; nailed like dovetailed hives; are cheap. Write to H. F. Maedcr. Rt. 4. West Bend. Wis. Redwood hive bodies. 25c each. Improved melted beeswax painted) comb foundation. J. E. Lawrence, 32fi Clay St., .San F'rancisco, Calif, Fhe National Beekeepers' Association now buy supplies for their members. Send us your order, enclosing the same money you have to tiay others, and we will buy them for you on the co-operative plan. If not a member we reserve the right to retain $1.50 from the profits on your first order to pay your membership dues and subscrip- tion to the Review one year. Sample copy of the Review free. Address, National Beekeepers' Ass'n., Northstar, Mich FOR SALE 75 Colonies of bees for sale. Write Jay C. Davis, Rt. 2, Marshfield, Wis, Have More Bees than I can handle, also extra farm for sale. W. T. Bailey, Suffolk, 'Va Double the honey crop and save half the labor, 25c. Money back if not satisfied. O. N Baldwin. Baxter Springs, Kan. For Sale— 35 strong healthy colonies of bees in lo-frame hives. T. ( I'Donnell. 815 So. Kildare Ave., Chicago, III. For Sale— Empty second-hand cans, two cans to the case; good as new; 2SC per case. C. H. W. Weber, 2146 Central Ave., Cincinnati. Ohio. For Sale— 15 colonies of bees, all in good hives, with Hoffman frames, at S^.oo per col- ony, John Herbert, Hampshire. III. For Sale— 50 full colonies of pure Italian bees at $600 each, in 8-fr. dov. hives with Hoffman frames. Moorequeens of 1013 rear- ing. No disease, F.A.Gray, Redwood Falls, Minn. For Sale— 22 i}^ story Danzenbaker hives with brood frames and section holders; practically as good as new. Si. 50 I'A of price list). 5 i-story, $1.00. Bees were transferred, combs and frames boiled to melt wax. No disease. .Alfred Mottaz. L'tica, III For Sale— 240 colonies of bees and every- thing for running three apiaries for ex- tracted honey. Also 120 acres of land in a good location where raspberry, clover, bass- wood and fall flowers grow. Write for price. E. S. Frost, Rt. 8, St. Louis, Mich. Closing out sale of bees. Have so colonies in 8-frame hives, queeu-excluding honey boards, queen and drone traps. Porter bee- escapes. Cowan honey extractor. Doolittle solar wax extractor, supers, and all that is necessary to complete a profitable apiary. If interested, write me. 4-^2t S. C. Boyle, Bode, Iowa. MISCELLANEOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos . Write Dr. Bonney, Buck Grove, Iowa, for samples. The Beekeepers' Review Clubbing List The Review and American Bee Journal one year Si. 50. The Review and Gleanings one year, $1.50. All three for one year only $2. 00. Dealers, or those wanting to buy honey, kindly ask for a late number of the Review having a list of too producers having honey for sale. Address. The Beekeepers' Review, Northstar, Mich. 138 April, 1914. American "Bee Jonrnal j I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony, my neighbors got none I'll tell you how for 25C. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. WANTED Wanted— To buy bees. Give full particu- lars and price. W.C.Davenport. J20I Pioneer Road. Evanston. HI. Wanted— 10 colonies of bees in loframe LanKStroth hives. E. A. Schmalle. Belmond. Iowa. SITUATIONS. Wanted— Young man of good habits to work with bees at once. State wages, age and experince in tirst letter. M. C. Silsbee. R. D. 3. Cohoctou. N. Y. Wanted— Comb-honey man to help in apiaries, consisting of 1200 colonies. Year around work for right party. State salary and experience in first letter. M. A. Gill. Jr., Hagerman. Ind. Wanted— Young man. 24. single, good character, inexperienced, wishes to learn modern beekeeping during the .coming sea- son Kindly send proposal. Geo. Schwarzbach. 53 Poorest St.. Montclair. N. J. POULTRY Pure White and Blue Barred Homer Pigeons. Good breeders and mated pairs. J. W. Hopson. Bedford. Iowa. Single Comb Brown Leghorns. Cham- pions of the West. Over wo prizes won. My quarter of a century record is free. 3AU C. F. Lang, La Crosse. Wis. For Sale- Single Comb Buff Orpington eggs for hatching, pure bloods; $1,00 per 15 or $5 00 per hundred. Satisfaction Guaranteed. W. H. Payne. Hamilton. III. S. C. W. Ori'INi-.ton eggs. 15 for I3.00; 30 for Ss.oo. Direct from Kellerstron. ancestor of " Peggy," the $10,000 hen. Indian Runner duck eggs. IOC each, white and fawn. I. F. Miller. Brooksville. Pa. "NUTMEG" ITALIAN QUEENS Leather-colored, reared by up-lo-date methods. Prize winners, red-clover strain. By return mail. AFTER *P'^" & May tested >Mc:sted M, '^JP0^ Queens $10:00- m 4x.?i'^« {^f/ $1.50 June ,1st , 3 aHAPM Art 5tV» hADtFORD.Conn. Write /or /'rices by the /iioidred QUINN'S QUEENS OF QUALITY N'ot CfMiiinj;, Imt an.- hcrr to sLiy. I'>c-st bt-e for any cliinati'. I'urest of the piirt- GREY CAUCASIANS lircd strictly in tlie light of Mendel's Laws of Heredity; no guess, but positive results. 'I'lie pioneer scientific queen-rearing estab- lishment of America. We lead, others may follow. F.very queen guaranteed as to purity of mating Special isolated mating station on bald open prairie, not a tree within miles— no chance for gvi'sy drones. Chicago. March 18 —The cold weather of February helped the sale of honey, espe- cially that of comb, so that the market is now practically cleaned upon all grades of comb honey, a situation which f>o days ago was Quite unlooked for. Fancy grades are selling at from I4(V^'I5C per pound: the off grades are also finding a market with very little being offered. Pricei^ range from S((j>i3c per pound Extracted is weak, with the best white clover and basswood bringing from 8@oc per pound, with other white grades from 7@8c per pound. The demand for bees- wax has been very active, and brings from 33@35c per pound, according to color and cleanliness. R. A. Burnett c& Co. Denver. Mar. 16.— Our local market is well supplied with honey, and our jobbing quo- tations are as follows; Strictly No. i white, per case of 24 sections. $2.70; choice, $2.57. No. 2. $2.43, Extracted, white, 8@qc; light amber, i@-j%c. We are in the 'market for beeswax, and pay 32c per pound in cash, and 34C in trade delivered here. The Colo. Honey-Producers' Ass'n., Frank Rauchfuss. Mer. Kansas City. Mo., Mar. i3.— The supply of comb honey is still large, demand light. Sup- ply of extracted honey moderate, demand fair. We quote as follows; No. i white comb, 24 sections per case, $3.75 to $38^; No. 2, 2.50 to $2.60. White extracted, per pound, &®iMc; dark and amber, 7@7Mc. Beeswax, per pound, 25® 30c. C. C. Clemons Produce Company. Indianapolis. March 18. — Fancy white comb honey is being offered here at i6(3'i7c per pound; amber comb at I4@i5c. White clover extracted u@'ioc in 5-gallon cans. Much comb is being held here, but at this wilting there is very little demand. Ex- tracted is in fair demand. Producers are being paid 32c cash for beeswax or 34c in trade. Walter S. Pouder. Cincinnati. March 18— The demand for honey is somewhat improved from what it was 30 days ago. The slocks are heavy, and hardly think the prices for next season will be as stiff as last season. We continue to sell our fancy comb honey in the wholesale way at $3-75 a case delivered. Our extracted table honey from 7.'2(5'ioc a pound; our am- ber extracted honey from sM@t>hc and 7!4c a pound, according to the quality and quan- tity purchased. For choice bright yellow beeswax we are paying 32c a pound deliver- ed here, and 34c a pound in trade for sup- plies. The Fred W. Muth Co. New York. March 20.— We have nothing new to report. While there is as yet some demand for fancy and No. i white comb honey, it does not count for much, and other grades w-hich were shipped to us late in the season when the demand was pretty well over, are practically unsalable and we have several lots in stock which we would rather not have had sent to us at all. If it had been shipped early we could have disposed of it. but now we have it on our hands and would rather not have received it at all. Extracted honey is very quiet. There is some demand for strictly fancy white clover while other grades are neglected. Prices remain about the same as in our last quotations. HiLDRETH & SeGELKEN. Boston. March 20.— bancy and No. i white comb, I5@i6cper pound. P'ancy white ex- tracted in 60-pound cans, iic per pound. Beeswax. 30c. Blake. -Lee Company. Los Angeles. March 18.— The market on honey is only nominal. We quote choice light amber in carload lots at (jc per pound. While alfalfa 6J^c. and fancy southern Cali- fornia white honey at 8!ic per pound. Bees- wax. 30(?'3ic f. o. b. Calfornia. Hamilton & Mendrrson. CHAS. Box 389 W. QUINN Beaumont, Texas Untested ITALIAN QUEEN-BEES OUR STANDARD-BRED 6 Queens for $6.00 ; 3 for $3.50; 1 for $1.25 For a number of years we have been sending out to bee-keepers exceptionally fine Untested Italian Queens purely mated, and all right in every respected. Here is what a few of those who received our Queens have to say about them. American Bee Journal- (/'(•////cw/iv;— Last October I purchased three queens of you for my experiments with different queens, and wish to ask you if queens of thisseason will be of this stock ? One of the Queens is the most remarkable queen I ever owned for proliticness. which slie transmits to all her daughters. Riddle. Oreg., .July 4. 1012. L. W. Wells. We usually begin mailing Queens in May, and con- tinue thereafter on the plan of " first come first served." The price of one of our Untested Queens alone is $1.25, or with the old American Bee Journal for one year, both for $1.60. Three Queens (without Bee Journal) would be $.3..50, or six for $6.00. Full instructions for introduc- ing are sent with each Queen, being printed on the un- derside of the address card on the mailing-cage. You cannot do better than to get one or more of our fine Standard-bred Queens. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, iiyisoss. April, 1!U4. 139 [American Hee Journal Root's Goods in Michigan Our Specialty — The " Root Quality " Bee Supplies to Michigan Beekeepers Prompt Service in Shipping. We sell at factory prices. Beeswax Wanted. Send for 1914 Catalog showing our Parcel Post Service. M. H. Hunt & Son, Dept. A, Lansing, Mich. Queens from Caraway's Prize and Winning Stocl( Three-banded Italians ready to mail now! Golden Italians after April 15 Following are my prices : Untested. Tested... After April 15 After May 10 1 6 12 100 I 0 12 100 $1.00 $10.00 $75 on 1.25 6.00 12.00 $ .00 {4.50 t 0.00 $70.00 1. 00 5.00 10.00 After June 10 .70 $4.00 % 775 Select tested from April i to Nov. i.$2.oo each; Breeders. $5.00 each. Bees by the pound after May 10th, one lb. for $2.00; 10 lbs. for $18; 100 lbs for $170. Add to these prices the price of the queen or queens. Safe arrival guaranteed within 5 days' journey of Mathis. My three-banded Italians captured first prize again at Dallas State Fair and the Cotton Palace Fair at Waco. This speaks for itself — ^none better. For my stock I secured the best stock obtainable, and when you pay more than my prices you are paying that much extra. I sell nothing only good queens. None better. I positively guarantee my queens to please. No foul brood. References : — Mathis 1st State Bank and the American Bee Journal. B. M. CARAWAY, Mathis, Texas Decrease the Cost of Producing Comb Honey By using the Rauchfuss Combined Section Press and Foundation Fastener Put up your sections in half of the former time. Not an untried nov elty. The old style machine is used by hundreds of Western Comb ■ Honey specialists; the new machine is better and cheaper. By Parcel Post anywhere in the United States— $3.00. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back Write today for illustrated circular to The Colorado Honey-Producers' Association ^"^ d° n"!lr!'coL*" FLAX BOARD Klax Board is composed entirely of flax fibre, thoroughly degummed and pressed into desired thicknesses by heavy machinery. It is a blanket of un- bleached linen. It is rat and vermin proof, and will not decay. One-half inch thick Flax Board has the efficiency of thirty thicknesses of building paper. It is the best insulating material known. It will keep the in- side of your hives cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather, and will not condense moisture anywhere We furnish it cut to any size. Prices and weights as follows; looSQuare feet, ii inch thick, weight about 70 lb $3.00 100 " " ^4 " " " " 140 " 4.50 ONE-HALF INCH THICK TO FIT TOP OF THE HIVE. $6.00 7.00 THREE-FOURTHS INCH THICK TO FIT TOP OF HIVE. 8 frame, weight 2J4 lbs., each $ .14 per 100 $ 0.00 1" " " 3 " " IS " " 10.00 Order a sample to be sent by Parcel Post. Will ship as th'rd-class freight. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY CO. iirifC Manufacturers of Standard Dovetailed Hives, Sections, Shiff^in^s^r Cases 8 frame, weight I J^i lbs. each $.10 per 100. 10 ■■ ■' iH ■■ " II '■ ' . C A U C A S A N S THK (<>.>! I NO BEE Nothing lacking- excel in many ways all other races I am the Pioneer in bringing the TRUE GREY CAUCASIAN BEE To the American Continent Pricis and explanatory free for a tostal Established In Michigan in 1 8 78 A. D. D. WOOD Box 61, Lansing, Micli., or Box 82, Houston Heights, Tex. P S y!^-'"u- ^''" Nuclei from my ■ ■ •• Michigan yards only. S N V s V o n w o UNTESTED QUEENS, :5c each; 7.50 per dozen. I ested. $i.so. Breeders (choice;. $5.00. Nuclei. $1.25 per frame: good supply of bees. V- lb Bees (Italians) with nntestedqueen' $2.=o. One pound with untested queen $300 Full colony in 8-frame hive, with queen $5 50' Fuil colony in lo-frame hive, with queen $7.50. Inquiries from jobbers solicited. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. Excel- lent mail and express service. Only twelve hours ride to St. Louis. Mo. Can ship March 20; probably March 10. Pure Buff Leghorn and .i^ncona eggs for hatching. $1 00 per setting. STOVER APIARIES Mayhew, Mississippi Try My Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what one customer writes:— Josephine. Tex.. June 16. 1Q13. Mr. M. Bates, Greenville. Ala. Dear Sir:—\ am sending you S'j.oo for which please send me 12 Untested Golden Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are fine, and old bee rearers say they are the finest they ever saw. They have surely made a reputation here for you. Several men say they will order queens soon. A. M. Morrison. I have other letters that say the same. Selected Untested, each $1.00; Tested, each $1.50; 2-frame nuclei, each $2,50. I guarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. M. BATES, Route 4, Greenville, Ala. SAVE YOUR QUEENLESS COLoiJiES We can furnish vigorous Tested Queens by return mail for $1.00 each. Untested Queens ready April 15. $i.ooforsinele queen; $0.00 per doz. Three-banded Italians only. No disease, and satisfaction guaranteed. J. W. K. SHAW & CO., Loreauville, Louisiana QUEENS OF QUALITY 3-band leather color. Sel. unt.. 7SC each; $8,ooperdoz. Orders booked now. Circular free. J. 1. BANKS, Liberty, Tenn. DOOLITTLE & CLARK Are now booking orders for Italian Breeding Queens. Prices, $2.50, $5.00, and $10. ~~ MARIETTA, ONONDAGA CO. N. Y. BEE - SUPPLIES ^'""i vo"' name for new i«u catalog out in January. Dept. S C. C. demons Bee Supply Co.. Kansas City, Missouri. 140 American "Bee Jonrnal WANTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Pricse. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SECELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y. 3 BAND LONG-TONGUED RED- CLOVER ITALIAN QUEENS VoK Sale.— My long- tongued Goldens are proving themselves to be the bee to clean Foul Brood. This is why 1 have such a large trade in Canada. Mr. E. L. Cox. of Jesup. Iowa, in- troduced soof my 1-band queens in ?"oul-Broody colonies in IQ12; and he said the disease was cleaned up where each of those queens was put. They gathered such a large crop of honey in 1012 that lie bought S) more in I'jn. One Untested, 75c; 6, $4.00; 12, $7.50; 25, $13.50; 50, $25.00 Double the above for tested queens. Bees by the pound: One lb.. $2.00; 2 lbs.. $4.00. One-frame nucleus. S2.00; 2 frame. $3.oo- 3- frame. $j.oo. To all the above packages add the price of queen. I will begin to send out queens in April. Positively no checks will be accepted. -Send money by P. O. Money Orders. All queens arriving dead will be replaced if cage is returned by return mail. J. B. ALEXANDER, CATO, ARK. EXTRACTED HONEY Just received car New Utah Alfalfa Honey. 8 1-2 cents a pound f. o. b, Kansas City. Mo C. C. CLEMONS BEE-dUPP. CO. Dapartnent A, Kansas City, Mo. MARCHANT'S Three-banded Italian Island-bred Queens Bred from Selected Mothers And mated to isolated drones of a different strain. My aim is quality and not_quantity. So if you wish any of Ihefe choice priceless mated queens, order now or you may not get them, as I am only going to rear a limited number. Free from disease, and your money back if not satisfied. The A. I Root Co. use my queens, which is proof of their quality. No need to write for a lower price. Ref- erence, the American Exchange Bank of this city. Prices. Untested. J1.50; bforjb.no; n for $10 In lots of 25 or more. 75c each. Select Tested. Si.oo; Breeders. $5.uo and $10. A. B. MARCHANT I Apalachicola, Florida The Opfer Hive-Entrance Bee-Feeder.— Some of the many good points of the En- trance Feeder are these; 1. It is made of heavy galvanized iron and will last a life-time. 2. It reduces the hive-entrance. .3. It reaches where the bees can get at the feed even in cool weather. 4. It feeds the right amount. 5. It will not cause robbing. 6. It will not disturb the colony while feed- ing. 7. It permits quick work. 8 The bees will not drown in it. lamina position to furnish all demands for these feeders at the following prices, f. o. b. Chicago: One for 20c; 5 for i8c each; 10 for i6c each. If ordered by mail, add loc each for packing and postage. Address all orders to— A. H. OPFER, 6259 Patterson Ave., Chicago, III. Dixie Swarms Direct to You in April Stop and think for half a minute what a small package of bees or nuclei would do if put on those unoccupied combs early in the spring. The cost is just a drop in the bucket, and your 1014 honey crop may be doubled. Bees by the pound. Queens and nuclei shipped during April. Carefully selected stock. Excellent express and mail service. Prices low. .Save money by writ- ing at once, for our price-list and estimate on your order. CONNEAUT LAKE BEE COMPANY Meldrim, Georgia K»coouo!>e<>eo(X I ITALIAN QUEENS | ^ Try Nurry's Strain of 3-Banded n O Italian Queens ||^ X Best stock obtainable at any price. 18 X X years' experience as aqueen-breeder, « X Satisfaction guaranteed or money re- g X funded, .s.so nuclei, besides II apiaries Q X to draw from. Writeforbooklet. free. A Tested queens in March. Untested g in April. g g Prices before May 10th : Q g Untested. 75 cts. straight; Tested. O Tested. O 8 After May 10th: O Untested, one for 70 cts.; 0 for $4 uo; X g $1.00 each, $00.00 per 100, 0 0 100 for $6^,ou. Tested, one for $1.00: 6 X Q for Ss.oo; 100 for $8o,oj. Select Tested. X ees by the pound; One pound. S2 00; 0 $i,i;o. Breeders. $5 00, jj Beesby the pound ; ' . JI 10 pounds. $i8-5o; 100 pounds. $180. on. f> V Better let me book yourorders now. X V for bees 01 queens in quantities. No X V disease, X N H. D. MURRY, Mathis, Texas h >;>S0O!>00QCOaCCCCOSOSOQO«0«k Buy Carniolans in Carniola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awirdtd 60 Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheiner-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria ITALIAN BEES Choice Home-bred Queens Reani In strong eolonies. PRICES FOR APRIL One Tested Queen $2.00 Select Tested 2.65 " Breeder 4.00 Comb .Vucleus — no Queen $1,7,'; Safe arrival guaranteed. For description of each grade of gueens send for FREE catalog. J. L. STRONG, Clarinda, - - Iowa Three-Band Italian Queens For 1914 1 will again have for sale, after April 1st, young gueens reared from my besi Leather- Colored Breeders. You will make sure of improving your stock and securing a Crop of honey if you introduce some of these gueens. The Leather. Colored Italians are recommended and used by the largest and most progressive bee-men of today. Untested. $1.00 each; $9.00 per doz.. $75 per hundred. Select Tested, $1.50 each. C. S. ENGLE, Beeville, Bee Co., Texas Q-U-E-E-N-S The Old Reliable 3-Band Stock My queens are reared from imported stocit which makes a beauti- ful bee. They are fine honey - gatherers, and very gentle. Try my queens. Send me your order, and if not satis- fied will return your money. Safe arrival guaranteed. Untested Italian, 1, 75c ; 6 $4.25; 12, $8.00. N. FOREHAND, R. F. D. 2, Brewton, Ala. ^MCpMC I'ure leather-colored Ital- ^^^^"■'^ ians bred in isolated loca- tion; mated to drones of a heavy storing strain; cannot be beat for comb honey: cap white; enter supers readily, with little in- clination to swarm. Queens are reared under best possible conditions Will begin mating about .June I5th. Get your orders in early, as the great- est rush is always at the opening of the sea- son. Orders promptly filled. Safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed, Prices; One, 8sc; 6 for Sa so; per doz. $3 oo. No foulbrood. Send for circular. D. G. LITTLE, HARTLEY, IOWA ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS riireu baiicled, Bii-ii fui piisistcnt profit able production of honey. Prolitic. hardy, gentlf, The bee for pleasure or profit One customer says. " Your queen soon had her 10 frames runnine over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction t;uaran- teed. Orders tilled promptly. Ready May 20. Untested, $1.00 eich: 6 for 5.30; doi . $10. Select tested, $2 each. J. F. Archdekin, R. R. 7, St. Joseph, Mo. ' April, 1914. 141 American Hee Journal Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doine our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wide-awake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of outapiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in ign, when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we mijht print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for 1014. Kor ii)i4 we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years In decidini just what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February isth issue for 1012. In tietting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raising and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY— Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for IQ12 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subiect. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in ^.wtT-production. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1— Beekeeping in Cities.— Probably few beekeepersrealize the number of beekeeper-^ there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic, and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by professional men. we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a ^r«t' story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL — Breeding Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted Queen-breeders on ciualifications of breeding queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE I — Moving Bees We, ourselves, expect to move ^00 colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto-truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. —There has never yet been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop 3nd market reports from various parts of the country. In 1014 we are going to make the effort of our lives to get telegraph reports from impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt. Texas. Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we get them, but in this August ist issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- ports and conditions of the market in gen- eral. No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1— Wintering We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of 1913-14. which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for 1014. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price. $100. will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio I SPECIAL DELIVERY During this month we shall double our usual efforts in points of delivery and service. We carry nothing but the Root make, which ensures the best quality of every thing. We sell at factory prices, there- by ensuring a uniform rate to every one. The saving on transportation charges from Cincinnati to points south of us will mean quite an item to beekeepers in this territory. We are so located that we can make immediate shipment of any order the day it is received. New 64-Page Catalog Our new 1914 catalog contains double the pages of former editions, and requires extra postage. It is filled from cover to to cover with complete lists of goods in every line to meet every requirement of bee- keepers. If you haven't received a copy when you read this, be sure to ask for one. It will save you money. New Features for 1914 Few radical changes have been made this season. It should be noted, however, that we will send out with regular hives, unless otherwise ordered, the metal telescopic or R cover with super cover underneath. The side rail for the bottom-board will be extra length so as to overcome the difficulty e.xperienced by some last season. Improvements have been made in extractors. We shall carry a very heavy stock so orders mav be filled with our usual promptness. Write us your needs. Early-order discount this month 2 percent. C. H. W. WEBER & CO. CINCINNATI, 2146 Central Avenue, OHIO ->^^^ ^->^^<^@<->Q^«<->0 ^^^^^*^->»^ ^->^^^- •>»§§«->>^@<->^^^^ 142 April, 1914. American IBae Jonrnal THALE'S REGULATIVE VACUUM BEE-FEEDER Meases wherever it has been k'iven a trial. After mailing out several thousand sample feeders, we have received hundreds of orders like the one given below: Ordwav. Colo., Jan. 26. igu- H. H. Thale. Maywood, Mo — Dear Sir.-— \ rec'd the sample bee-feeder O. K.. and think I will like it tine. Ship me 250 feeders complete and 25 extra bottles. Enclosed find check in settlement for same. This is quite a bee-country, but the main drawback has been that they don't get stronir quite early enough to take proper advantage of the earliest clover blossoms. Now. if you would like an agent in this part of the country. I'm sure I can make some heavy sales for you, as I am acquainted with beekeepers owning from luou to 15000 col- onies. Please let me hear from you at ouce. Respectfully. D. B. Hersperger. I want every beekeeper and queen-breeder in theU. S. totry this feeder this season. Send 55c for sample feeder, postpaid, today. This is one of the biggest money makers for the beekeeper. Over 42.000 are now in use. I want over 100.000 of these feeders in use by June T. I will ship you as many bee-feeders as you need 011 ten days* free trial in your own apiarv. and if these feeders do not work as represented you may return them to me at my expense, and your money will be refunded. If no monev is sent, fill in and cut out Free Trial offer below and mail to me today. Address. Free Trial Dept.. A g4. TERMS, CASH WITH ORDER Sample feeder, with two bottles, complete by mail postpaid SSc Ten feeders, complete with one bottle, by freight or exp. each 35c All orders o¥er ten feeders eaih only Extra botles with cork valve, each 30c lOc H. H. THALE, Inventor and Manufacturer Box A 25, Maywood, Missouri Eastern buyers send orders to Earl M. Nichols, Lyonsville, Mass., and B. H. Masters, Edison, Ohio. Western buyers send orders to D. B. Hersperger, Ordway, Colo. TEN DAYS' FREE TRIAL ORDER Please send by Kreieht. Parcel Post (send oostage). Express Post-offic«. .R. R. Station State. Send at once (number of feeders) feeders on ten days' free trial. Title of feeders to remain with H. H. THALE. of MAYWOOU. MO., until payment in full is made or feeders returned. How many colonies have you ? Annual crop pounds. Produce comb or extracted .-^ Sign N N N N N N M ■ N N ■ Organized Co-operation THE WESTERN HONEY BEE A new magazine owned and run by the bee-keepers, filled with Western life as depicted by the best talent on bee topics obtainable. Special department on crop and market conditions during season. ADVEKTISEKS Queen-Breeders' Department 1 inch, $2.00 per issue Classified, ISc a line Writefor particulars Published Monthly by the California State Bee-Keepers' Ass'n Lo.s Augele.s, Calif. J. D. BIXBY, Editor, Covina, California. N N M N N N N N N N N M M M N N N N N WWW ¥M ¥¥¥¥¥¥ ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥yyi FOR SALE Fine Three-banded Southern Q U E E NS Untested. $1 00. tested. $;.oo. My host. $< oo. My bees are eentle, prolific, and fine hust- lers. Give me a trial order and be convinced. J. L. LEATH, Corintli, Niss. ALSIKE CLOVER SEED Small and large red. alfalfa, wliite and yel- low sweet clover seed, timothy, blue Brass, rape, millet, etc. Also seed corn. CataloK of apiary supplies and seeds free F. A. SNELL, Milledgeville, Illinois MAKENOKE MONEY ^ FROM Blaiike'.s Bee. Book Free JOHNNIE-ON-THE-SPOT DELIVERIES When you order Bee Goods, you want them " now " — we are in the very heart of the BeeSection — no city with so good package car service — largest stock west of the Mississippi. When- ever possible, orders shipped same dayas received— more carefully pack- ed than ordinary. Blanke's Bee-book Free a catalog tilled with helpful tips for either be- ginner or old timer. Write today be- fore you need supplies. Department 1 Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co. St. Louis, Missouri SUPERIOR GOLDEN QUEENS Untested, $1.00; 6, $5.00; 12, $9. Select Untested, $1.25; 6, $6, 12, $10. Prices on application for tested and untested queens by the hundred. Address, T. S. HALL, Talking Rock, Ga. April, 1914. 143 American 'Ree Journal h QOOOCOOOOQOSoeooocosososcoooQoccoscoeoooseoececcooi NARSHFIELD GOODS BEE KEEPERS :— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. *% We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. 4oo Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis ■ 0OSO0C0OSO00O00e! Beekeepers' Supplies and Fruit Packages We manufacture the famous Sheboygan Hive, which always gives absolute satisfaction. Our perfect sections, made from selected white basswood, are rec- ognized as the best on the n-iarket. Catalog now ready for distribution. Write for copy. SHEBOYGAN FRUIT BOX COMPANY, Sheboygan, Wisconsin >scccccocc' i'ooi/s III-,' -uanUi/ i/iiick, send lo roudcy." BEE-SUPPLIES EQUIPMENT ^'°'''^ room built expressly for the business; large con- ^ Crete basement with just enough moistuie to prevent breakage in section.". No shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. QUALITY Ko<^tg°"'^s at factoiy prices. The kind that I have sold for '* " nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I might have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but I would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsibility in safe delivery of the goods. Catalog free. WALTER S. POUDER, 873 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. ' "Rriooc Sau0C Vnii ■ ■■ B I ■■ SM " RrSoorc Csuoc Vnii ri M N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N H 'Griggs Saves You Freight" TOLEDO " Griggs Saves You Freight" With four carloads of new goods on hand, we are now bet- ter prepared for the rush than ever. But don't wait to be in the RUSH. Send your order in now and have the goods on hand, ready for use. New Illustrated Catalog of 60 Pages We want one in every beekeeper's hands. Send postal for one today. It is free; White Clover Extracted Honey Wanted, also Beeswax in exchange for supplies. It will be to your interest to get in touch and keep in touch Avitli us. S. J. GRIGGS & CO. 24 N. Erie St., Toledo, Ohio "Griggs is always on the Job." Queens That "Are Belter" Italians and Banats Untested Queens, 75c each; $B.oo per dozen; twoor more dozen in one order, $7 50 per dozen Tested Queens, J1.25 each; $12.00 per dozen. Breeder Queens. S?.oo each. Foreign trade add 5 cents each extra. J^lb. pound packages of bees after May i. S2.00. Select queen wanted, add to this. The ex- press charges on these will be very small in comparison with charges on frame nuclei. One-frainelNuclei, with untested Queen. $2.00 each; 2 frame. $j 00; j-trame. $4 00. Full colony of beesliii loframe hive, $7 00. Add S'l cents if Tested (Jueen is wanted; $2.00 if Breeder (^ueeii is wanted. For ten or more colonies or nuclei, deduct 25 cents each. I have successfully shipped bees and queens from this place every month of the year. 1 started two colonics .Ian. 25 on their voyage lo Nutsusarida, Kobe. .lapan. Fach con- tained a Breeder Italian Queen. Dear .V;>.— The two colonies of bees shipped by^you arrived safely, and are perfectly satis- factory. M. Sarida, Kobe. Japan. My Bee and Queen'exhibits at the .State Fair of Texas were awarded six premiums in iQii. Italians al5o!were!awarded First Prize at the Cotton Palace in Waco, Tex. " Your Monev's^Worth " is my motto. Terms are <.(>// with order. I refer you to Sabinal NationalJBanktorrany business firm in Sabinal. I (ia\'e ten yards, and with several hundred nuclei I can serve many customers. I solicit your trade. J. A. Simmons, Uvalde Co. Apiaries, Sabinal, Texas May, 1914. 147 (American Hee Jonrnal CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or lo frame, 25c each. Covers and bottoms, prices iiiion application. Fal- con Foundation and Bee Supplies. FROFALCON QUEENS Kverythinj,' for the bi-ekoepcr. Address. J. C. Frohliger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco '*Vaae mention Am. P*!e Journal when writing. BARNES""'"" Machinery K-i.i whit J . irK^rjr, jf unaj: con. N V , wjo We ?ot with oiu of your "".irtihtn-J Machines, iae% w^nt'?r SO cba.^ hivr-s with 7-ln. caj». 100 honej rack? WO ^jrood-framea ?,000 hone>-boieB, ani a great de*. of other «"orb. Thie winter we hav* donbtf: the amount of i«»s-hlve8,etti, i}mabQ uidwe expecttodoitwitb Xhls Sa(v It will do all you say It wili." Catalog and prlce-liBt free Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. . The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey j,'atherers they have few equals, 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan bred in separate yards, ready March 20, Untested, one. $t; six, $5; 12. $0; 251. $17. 5o; 50. \u: 100. $65- Tested, one. Si.^o; six. $8; 12, $15. Breeders of either strain. $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame. $2.50: six one-frame. $15; two-frame$3. 50; six two-frame $20.40: nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $3.00: six one-frame. S17.40; two-frame. $4; six two frame $2^.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service t:uaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R ^ ,„_^ , , AT ALL SAVES -TIME ■ DFAI FRS I MONEY i UL/\uiiK.3 Each, 16c; Doz., $1.65, j)Osti)aicl If your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lewistown, Illinois BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hive-bod- ies. Smokers, etc. Get my prices before placine your orders. R. H. SCHMIDT Rt. 3, Box 209, Sheboygan, Wis. WOODMAN'S SECTION FIXER A new machine of pressed-steel construction' for folding sections and putting in top and bottom starters at all one handling. With top and bottom starters the comb is firmly attached to all four sides.a requireinentto grade fancy. Increase the value of your crop this season by this method. The Editor of the Beekeepers' Review, in commenting on things at the recent Detroit, Michigan, beekeepers' convention, stated: " It was the consensus of opinion of those that saw the machine work, that it was the best thing for the purpose ever brought on to the market." The Chicago-Northwestern Beekeepers' Convention in December unani- mously adopted the following resolutions: Whereas. This convention has been impressed by the exhibit of the Woodman Com- bined Section Press and Foundation Fastener, and believe that the same is practical and a labor saver for the beekeepers at large. Therefore, be it A',f:tracti;il Hone Surest Protection for Bees Increased Supply of Honey— The Best Hive for any Climate Furnished in the clearest of lumber in either Cypress, White Pine or Redwood THE MASSIE VENTILATED BOTTOM Admits fresh air into the hive, lessening the chance of swarming, and giving renewed ener^'y to the bees. Fifty years in the bee supply business has shown us that the MASSIE is the very best hive, and testimonials to this eflfect are received daily from those who are using this hive. SATISFACTION FULLY GUARANTEED WHY NOT GIVE US A TRIAL ORDER ? We are also extensive manufacturers of Dovetailed Hives and all other Apiarian Supplies. If you are in the market for supplies be sure to get our prices before buying elsewhere. We issue a 72page illustrated cataloi; which will be mailed to any one upon request. KRETCHMER MFG. CO., COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA Features of Advantage of the ROLLER ENTRANCE BOTTOM BOARD 1. It allows feeding during any time of the day or year— at mid-day or in mid-winter. 2. It controls the mat- ing of the queen so that mismatingis prevented. 3. It settles the robber bee question as the rol- ler can be quickly turn- ed to bring the small entrance into position 4. It sifls automatical- ly undesirable drones out of the hive, and cages them in the drone trap. 5. It permits ample ventilation at the height of the honey-flow. 6. It can be instantly closed when moving bees in and out of cellars or from one yard to another. 7. It permits undesirable Queens to be sifted out by screening the bees through the wire entrance. K. It prevents swarms from going to the tops of trees or away to the woods when the beekeeper is away. Q. It practically eliminates swarming, as the colonies usually show no inclination to swarm. Why. I do not know. 10. It is adjustable to make a shallow bottom for summer and a deep one for winter. It contains many other valuable features which will be apparent to any beekeeper upon investigation, and if it is once tried it will always be used. MANUFACTURED AT LIVERPOOL, N. Y. CHAS. G. SCHAMU TENNESSEE-BRED QUEENS 42 years' experience in queen-rearing— Breed 3-band Italians only Untested Select Untested Tested Select Tested Nov. I to May i 12 ll 50 t 7.50 J13.50 2.00 8 SO 15 so 250 IS.50, 25.00 3.00 16 50 30.00 May I to June i 12 $1.25 $ 6 50 tti.50 1.50 7.50 13 50 2.00 1050 18.50 2.75 15 00 27.00 June I to J uly I July I to Nov. I 1 6 12 6 12 (1 00 t 5.00 t 0.00 t .75 J 400 $ 7.50 1.25 6.50 12.00 1.00 500 goo 1.75 0.00 17.00 1.50 800 1500 250 13.50 25.00 2.00 10.00 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year — Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested for breeding, $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.S0 to $10 each. Queens for export will be carefully packed in long distance cages, but safe delivery is not guaranteed. John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. IEW ENGLAND t KEEPERS Everything in Supplies New Goods. Factory Prices Save Freight and Express Charges CULL & WILLIAMS CO. Providence, R. I. X>QOS<«OSOSO!>S9t>SO0»0»O!»S WESTERN BEE KEEPERS r,„"erard t'et the best foods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver, Colorado I W.H.Laws I Will be ready to take care of your queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings Laws' queens above the usual standard: bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist. About so first-class breeding-Queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested. $1.25: 5 for $500; Breeders, each $5.00. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Write us for our 64-pa>;e catalog. Free. Full information given to all inquiries. Let us hear from you. We handle the best of bee-supplies for the beekeeper. Our ship- ping facilities are good. We cater to parcel post and express orders— none too small nor too large. Beeswax exchanged for supplies or cash. John Nebel & Son Supply Co., High Hill, Missouri QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of 1-band stock reared for honey- gatiierine qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later, 75c Tasted, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of having queens when you want thsm. R. A. SHULTS, Cosby, Tenn. G. B. Lewis Company, Watertown, Wisconsin ^1 ll The One Subject on Which all Beekeepers Can Agree ^ ^ Lewis Sections! ' (^*»* There aiv many sub'i'cts on whii-h no two bGokecpors can atjjree; but here is one th(>y can ^V^ a^'i'iH' on. Tlicy nil acknowledl=i torv in the board and is sorted as carefully as a woman picks over strawberries. ^^ y«^ The best boai'ds are then sent on their buzziuiz; Journey through the factory — fed thi'ou^h a \(^ planer watched over by a veteran in the business — sawed up into correct thicknesses and £5! ft^ lens^ths and run thi'ough a polisher, tlie sandpaper polishiny bt)th ways of the ^rain. ^ m m. ft^ Then the particular work commences. Here is where the intricate machinery gets the strips, ftVI rabbets them, scores tiiem, dovetails them, and then the finished sections are packed away. fli-i But the secret is here: This delicate machinery is cai'ed for like a trotting- horse -the Lewis >j-" section foreman has been watchin<4 it, caring for it, keeping it right for the past thirty years. .-_ P He is Still on the Job Making Lewis Sections for You | (4%^ No matter what Hives, what Frames, what Supers, and whatnot you use. i^ i Insist on Lewis Sections I «^ ^1 ©^ Every crate going out with the L?wis name means something to you. Here is what out' of our ^1 ^^ customers lias Just written us; |g]| /5«^ "We have been using the G. B. Lewis Company's No. 1 Sections for several yjS years, and have a few other makes, but I find the Lewis goods the best. We V^ have put up about ;-5,000 sections so far this season, and have not found one y^ section in the lot that was not perfect. We find they fold perfectly and hold ^^ together where some of the other makes come apart. We use the Rauchf uss ^1 ^1^ Combined Section Press and Foundation Fastener and Dadant's Foundation." ^1 El S3i -.3 -, ^m Sole IVianufacturers ^ P Thirty Distributing Houses. [ S^ Send for the name of the one nearest to you. U Q\Z/iff in bees and supplied with an abundance of f^ood stores. Viwy is a busy month with bees in all northern sections. No matter how anxious you are to see into the brood- nests, don't tear the hives to pieces until the bees are gathering nectar as well as pollen, and the temperature is at least TO degrees in the shade. Hand- ling bees before anything is coming in from the fields causes them often to ball tlieir queens, and a balled quee ', even if not killed outright at the time, never amounts to much aflerwaids. If you clip the queens, a good time to do it is in apple bloom. If you hav* more than one yard this work can be done in willow bloom if weather is war n enough. Use any i ethod you find best while clipping queens. Personally I prefer to clip them without catching them at all. As the queen walks up the side of a comb slip a fine pair of curved surgi- cal shears under her wing or wings, and the job is done wit'iout her being aware of it. The exceptions when I do not clip that way are when some wild black or bydrid colonies are being m.inipulated. In that case, ,<'r«6 the queen by the wings the first time you get your eyes on her. Usually it is not advisable to try to find a queen at this lime of the year before II a.m., and at that hour she will be usually found in the center of the brood-nest. About noon, and until 3 p.m., you are likely to find her on either side nf the brood-nest wh 're she has gone to lay eggs in outside frames. In clipping time make a note of every hiv • examined, so that when all I hrough the apiary you can tell the cundition of every colony as to queen, number of combs of i. rood, etc. Th ?n it is an easy matter to do what adjusting is necessary, and to keep the \ ery strong colonies in check from swarming; give these colonic ^ extra room rather than tak - briod from ihcni at this season to strengthen weak colonic;. Weak col- onies at this time of year aie not short of brood, but short of bees, and when you give them m ire brood to take car ■ of you are really weakening instead of strengthening the colony. Above all things, do not attempt to unite small weak colonies at I his time of year, is it usually results in failure. The Alexander plan of uniting early in the spring, may be an exception, but I cannot speak from experience. The late J. B. Hall, who was a humor- ist as well as a beekeeper, told me that one spring he united eight Aeak colo- nies into four. The ne-t visit to the yard he |iu the four into two, and at the next the two into one. This about describes how it will turn cut in the majority of cases in ordinary seasons. Leave the weak colonies alone, pro- vided, of course, they have sufficient stores and are well protected, and 1-^ave all equalizing till settled warm weather, when the clover flow comes on. California ^ Bee-I^eping Conducted by J. E. Pleasants, Orange. Calif. Crop Conditions April has given us 1.7-'i inches of rain in my locali y, which is in the moun- tains at an elevation of from 1000 to 2000 feet, and some 15 miles from the coast. The plants are advanced fot the season, owing to an unusually warm winter accompanied by a heavy lainfall in January and February. March was very dry and warm. The orange flow was light, came very ':arly, and is almost over. Black sag; is in bloom now, and the bees are working on it, but lightly. Black sage, however, has a long season of lloom, and has a fair chance of growing bet- ter if conditions are favorable during the next month. Colonies are not as a rule very strong yet, and swarms are light. It b oks, from pr.;sent indica- tions, as though the crop would be a light one. Of course, with the amount of rain we had in th • winter, if we can have several more light spring rains, the sa^ei and other mountain plants ought to give us a fnir yield, but we must have a little more r;iin. At pres- ent the weather is warm and dry. There were some few losses reported among beekeepers from the winter flood, but the loss is nothing compared with t'le good done by the rain. These winters of heavy rain storms are a great bl ssing to soutliern California, though they may entail some slight damage locally, for by this means our underground storage of water is main- tained, without which we should lack for sufficient irrigation water, which is here a necessity. Our storms this sea- son have been short, and immediately followed by warm dry winds. This has not been the best condition for the honey plants and the bees. It is, of course, too soon to think about prices. We must know what the crop is to be, but the last «■ od s.ason we had, the Beekeepeis' Clubs, which in almost every county have now organized, did much to mai Ltain a fair price accord- ing lo grade. Honey Plants Suitable to Drouth Conditions Mr, Chadwick, in April numb/r of Gleanings in Bee Culture, mentidns some of the peculiar characteristics of our semi-arid plants. This opens up a wild field and an interesting . ne. The plants of the semi-arid regions of th^: Southwest show almost countless adaptations to drouth conditions, which enable them to tide over seasons of partial or complete drouth, and con- serve theii energies for a time of more favorable growth. The " wild alfalfa" mentioned by Mr. Chadwick frequently does not "leaf out" during a season of drout I. But when there comes a season of copious r linfall, it will put forth a vigorous growth, bloom pro- fusely, and yield a good flow of nectar. The plant rests, as it were, during un- favorable conditions, as do many of the semi-arid plants. The honey g ithered from this nectar is wat r white. The whole family (f Eucalyptus (introduced here from Australia), pre- sents a vertical instead of horizon- tal leaf to the intense rays of a semi- tropical sun. Th- leaves of the Cali- fornia live oak "cup" or incurve in order to protect the stomata on the under side fr m the direct rays of the sun ; and a multitude of the floral in habitants of the Southland have their stems and l-aves covered with a plant down, or woolly covering to protect them from the rays of a too fervid sun. This gives the peculiar grayish green coloring to the landscape of our lower mountains and foothill canons, when se 'n at close range. There are two drouth weeds which cover our stubble fields in many locali- ties after the crop is harvested, and yield a gdod supply of nectar for the bees during the early autumn. These are the white drouth weed, or dove weed (so-calKd because the mournin ; dove feeds on its seeds), ana the strong- . scented blue-curls or turpentine weed. I Notes From ^ Ab r oad C, P, Dahant. At Geneva Geneva, Switzerland, is a pretty city, and also one of the cleanest that I have ever seen. In our western coun- try, the inhabitant of medium-size towns thinks nothing of throwing upon the streets or in the alleys any refuse which is in his way, orange and banana peels, rotten fruit or vegetables, old tin cans, paper, pasteboard, cigar stumps, etc. Some cities take measures to stop this, and are also strenuously fighting the disgusting public spitting of to- bacco users. These things are not seen on the streets of an average ICuropean city, however dirty the manure-ridden vil- lages be. But in Kurope, as well as in America, the dog nuisance has never been abated. Vagrant dogs, roaming at large with or without their master, soil the walks, the streets, the alleys of almost every city, large or small, with j:.-v. him. American IBee Journal their excrements. In Geneva, they have practically mastered even that nuisance, and the motto of " Love me love my dog," does not appear to have maintained immunity for them from the requirements of cleanliness. Geneva, like most Swiss cities, is above all a tourist's resort. Its beauti- ful lake, from which the Rhone emerges with the same headlong impetuosity that characterizes its passage through Lyon, is one of the finest in the world. Using the powersupplied bythe Rhone, they have established a large electric plant which furnishes light and force, and is used to send a water spout some 300 feet up in the air, at the edge of the lake. One can see it from a distance, towering above th" houses like a sil- very plume. Our first thought, after arrival, was to secure an " abonnement " (subscrip- tion) to the Swiss railroads. This is neither more nor less than a "pass." One may buy it for two weeks, for a month, or for a year The passes we secured were for 30 days, in second class. There are three classes in all European railroads, and the second is generally used by well-to do people. It differs but little from the first-class, but it is more crowded in summer owing to its slightly lower rates. To secure a pass it is indispensable to furnish a photograph, which is pasted in the little booklet and serves to iden- tify you. So we had our pictures taken at once. Passes are useful, not only because they are cheaper than tickets, but also because they save you the in- convenience of rushing to the ticket- window at train time, when there are several hundred others doing the same thing. In a large country like the United States, this system would be impossible, because our distances are so great. But in a diminutive country like Switzerland, where natural won- ders and fine scenery are close together and easy of access, no one wants to Gryon et la Dent du Midi Gryon in the Swiss Alps. travel longer than necessary to go from one sight to another. At Geneva, we had to change our watches again, for the reckoning of Switzerland is by the hour of central Europe, which is an hour later than that of western Europe, 5 hours and 06 minutes later than our eastern time, or (J hours and .Mi minutes later than our central time. When it is 7 a.m. in Illi- nois it is 1 :.5(i p.m. in Switzerland. Before leaving Geneva, I cal'ed upon Mr. Burkhardt, the publisher of our French Langstroth Revised, " L'Abeille Et La Ruche," third edition. Mr. Burk- hardt has one of the finest and best as- sorted book stores that I have ever seen. I had great pleasure in meeting him, for although he has already pub- lished three editions of our book, I had never met him before. All our inter- course with him has been through the "N^SESi^ '^■Zm. Generalabonnement j Abonnement genera/] ^fihi^ nuf itcu Stix'cken der ura^ttelioud bezcich- nctun Kiitr»tjMhn>iind Damiinwotiinicmuhmuiiifen ealalie sur In /vi r<0Hf3 rffji/ Vulrtyfiseg de fhfnuH* dr /er ti batrmt^ «> rV (INKIS na e/ut?Tz ^JifyU^^A':l<^ U. Classe. Taxe Fr. 110.— (tat). D«pM Fr. 6. -) Pass Issued to Mrs. C P. Dadant. a>id Good Over All Swiss Railroads and Steamboats for a Month from Date of Issue. great kindness of Mr. Edouard Ber- trand, the former editor of the "Revue Internationale D'Apiculture." of which my father was so long a regular con- tributor. Our next stop was with Mr. Ber- trand, at his mountain summer home of Gryon. In spite of their age, both he and his wife are very active, and both were at the station to welcome us. I had visited them in 1900, and found them almost as spry as they were 13 years ago. Mr. Bertrand is of the age of our Dr. Miller, and wonderfully pre- served, in spite of the many responsi- bilities he has had. The village, of which one view was given in our October number, is on a very steep declivity, beyond the east end of Lake Geneva, and is reached from Bex on the main line, by a cog road. It is at an altitude of 3740 feet, and in full sight of several snow peaks. There are a few bees there, for it is mainly a land of pastures. But the best apiaries are down in the valley. Mr. Bertrand is no longer active as a beekeeper, but is still interested in all the doings of bee-culture, and a con- stant reader of our Journal, for he speaks and reads English as well as French. His book, "Conduite du Rucher," has had dozens of editions, and is published in eight different lan- guages. Only one other work on bees, that of Cowan, exceeds it in the num- ber of translations. But we will speak of this later. The first information we received from our kind host as soon as we were installed in his pretty "chalet," waa that Mr. Gubler had written him asking to be informed of our arrival, as he would seize this opportunity to pay him a long promised visit. A tele- phone call was made by'Mrs. Bertrand, and the very ne.xt morning Mr. Gubler arrived from Neuchatel, to spend the day with us. We have spoken of Mr. Gubler, and gave his portrait in the October number. We will mention him again when we go to Neuchatel, a little further along, for that is where we had time and opportunity to appre- ciate him. Mr. Bertrand has had a very exten- May, litl4. American Hee Journal sive experience with foreign races of bees. His central position enabled him for years to import bees from all over the Old World. So he has tried not only the Italian, Carniolan, Cyp- rian and Palestine bees, but bees from the Balearic Islands and from Tripoli. These bees are yellow. They were very cross, though they are said to be gentle in their country. Our host sug- gested that their temper may have been changed by the change in climate and conditions. He cited as an example the white donkeys of Egypt, which were imported into France. It appears that at the time of the digging of the Suez canal, the Empress Eugenie, of France, visited Suez and was very much pleased with the little white don- keys put at her disposal and that of her ladies in waiting, by the Khedive of Egypt. They were so gentle and pleas- ant for riding that she expressed the desire to take some of them home with her. She was immediately presented with some of the finest specimens which the Khedive could find. The white donkey is the beast of burden of Suez, and we are even told that some of the sand dug out of the canal was carried out on the back of donkeys. But the white donkeys, when housed in the imperial stables at Paris, proved so cross and unmanageable that they had to be promptly disposed of. Perhaps the change of treatment they received was, as much as the cli- mate, the cause of their changed be- havior. In how many instances will not our bees prove cross because ill- managed ? While at our friend's home, we re- ceived some 20 different invitations, from Switzerland, from Italy, from Marseille, from Bordeaux, etc., and we found it necessary to settle upon a definite itinerary for the balance of our trip. It became just like a fairy tale, and the constant kaleidoscopic changes of scenery, the successive re- ceptions we were given would have caused everything to blur in our minds, had we not daily put our thoughts upon paper. These notes were regu- larly forwarded to our people at home, and it is from them that I now take the most interesting portions. The mem- orandum book which I mentioned in the March number also served a good purpose, and received much praise from Mr. Bertrand. He assured me that the investigation which I was thus carrying on would be of great benefit to bee-culture. He evidently overesti- mated my ability. We had bought a cloth map of 'Switz- erland and a Baedecker guide. These, with the little railroad map contained in our " passes," enabled us to trace our itinerary for the month. Our next step was to take a little snow-capped mountain experience. The knowledge of kind Mrs. Bertrand was very useful in this. She is acquainted with all the fine Swiss points, and ad- vised us to begin with Zermatt and the "Mont Cervin " (Matterhorn). So we departed for Zermatt on the afternoon of Aug. 8, after having promised our hosts to again visit them at their Nyon home before leaving for Italy, at the end of the month. In the meantime we were to visit beekeepers in both French and German Switzerland and compare the two systems. Apiary of Mr. Cljenat at Delemont — (Photographed by J. Walther.) Overprodaction in Ontario BY MORLEY PETTIT, PROVINCIAL APIARIST. |R. EDITOR, much that has been said on the above subject in the Bee Journal is very flatter- ing to the work done. But I cannot claim any credit for the abnormally large crop of 1913. It was largely due to the unusual weather conditions. It was produced by producers, and not by bi-g-t/i/icrs created at Guelph. Our work may be classified as fol- lows : 1. Apiary inspection. This is done among those who already have apiaries. A few men have been chosen from among the students and given training as inspectors. But they were mainly already beekeepers before coming to college. 2. Education in beekeeping at the college, consisting of lectures to all first year students. These are given most directly among those who are not beekeepers. " Langstroth on the Honey Bee " is used as text-book and followed closely, chapter by chapter. Next comes the experimental and demonstration apiary work. Then the short course. This seems to be one of the bones of contention. The courses have been held May, lHll, January, 1912, 191:! and 1911; two weeks' courses all except the first, and the attendance has been, in round numbers, l-"i, .50, 75 and 90 re- spectively. I am safe in saying that 75 percent of this attendance has been among those who were beekeepers already. Of the other 25 percent, prob- ably half have not bought any bees yet. Several complaints were made that the instruction was all for the "old heads" and could not be followed by the in- experienced. The experimental work consists of co-operative experiments among bee- keepers. To get their co-operation, as complete a list as possible of those who have bees in Ontario was collected and application forms for the experi- ments are sent to this list each winter or each spring. These beckei-pcrs de- rive benefit from these experiments. No beginner need apply because the experimenter must first have his own bees with which to experiment. When I became secretary of the Ontario association, in order to spread the benefits to more beekeepers, I had a slip printed with a list of benefits of membership on one side and a form of application for membership on the other. It was sent to beekeepers all over the province. It worked like magic. In one year the membership jumped from 500 to 1500, the addi- tional 1000 being nearly all at $1.00 each, and not at 50 cents as thought by Mr. Byer. Previous to that the pro- portion was two to one the other way. I think it will be plain from what I have said that these 1000 new members are by no means new beekeepers, but men and women who, by their mem- bership will become br/ler beekeepers, producing more honey perhaps, but at a reduced cost to themselves and of better quality. This should be taken into account by the " pessimists." The demonstrations in apiaries have been beneficial to beekeepers, espe- cially in dealing with foulbrood, it be- ing the purpose to make every bee- keeper his own doctor. At fall fairs they have been in the nature of a pub- licity campaign which tends more to May, 1914. American Tiee Joarnajj 161 increase the use of honey than its pro- duction. In all this, those who are already bee- keepers have received by far the great- est benefit. No doubt mistakes have been made. They say that he who makes no mistakes spends his life doing nothing and doing it well. But my plan has not been to make a lot of K\i^r,- numbers. The colonies that had the May sickness got over it and thrived during the sum- mer just as colonies that had not been infected ; but some of their bees were still infected with the parasite. Only the young bees just hatched were at all times free from it. Dr. Maassen's experiment tends to show that a Nosema infection is not necessarily very disastrous, since even the 21 infected colonies that were taken through the winter did not show an unusual number of dead bees. The wintering was good, and the develop- ing in spring was good. Only 10 per- cent of the Nosema-infected colonies that were wintered showed dysentery in the spring, and even these got over it and developed into useful colonies. Opinions are conflicting, and these opinions are corroborated with good testimony. Probably both parties are right. Peculiar conditions are neces- sary so that the parasite may fully de- velop its destructive character. It may be that only weakened colonies or bees whose power of resistance has been weakened through hereditary influence or conditions caused by inclement weather or poor management suc- cumbed rapidly. Probably consider- able damage is done by shortening the life of the worker bees infected, and might be overlooked, even by a keen observer. This would show itself in a smaller amount of surplus; still it would be difficult to positively blame the Nosema for it. It will be well to keep our eyes open and call for more light — from science — at the same time keep our bees in first-class condition regardless of the Nosema Apis that may lurk near our apiaries, Markt Oberdorf, Bavaria, Germany. |In the foregoing article, Mr. Heberle gives us a very good short history of the Isle-of-Wight disease. We believe his conclusions are right. In dry cli- mates there is evidently but little to fear from the May disease or from the Nosema Apis. But it is well for the beekeepers to be on the lookout. Now that we have efficient bacteriological workers at Washington, it would be a mistake to remain in the dark for want of enquiry. If your bees suffer from any cause, be sure and send samples American ISee Journal of the diseased insects to Dr. G. F. White at the Bureau of Entomology of Washington, D. C. — Editor.] The Chaff Hive BV J. E. HAND. ON page 19, Dr. Bonney has shown the bright side of the chaff hive situation in a very fair and candid manner. There are two sides to most questions, however, and with due re- spect for the opinion of Dr. Bonney, and others who may be interested in the problem of winter protection for bees, I will endeavor to present the practical side of the chaff hive ques- tion as it appears from my point of view. Barring two slight errors of minor importance, I can endorse what friend Bonney has said, but my object is to reveal conditions that evidently have escaped his notice. Undoubtedly some will feel slighted by his statement that there are but three chaff hives listed in the country. The champion chaff hive is advertised quite extensively by western dealers, and is not materially different from the others. Others will have cause for complaint because of his statement that all use chaff trays, but it is to his credit who has dispensed with that nuisance, as well as with the nuisance of deep telescope covers. A noticeable feature of the chaff hive situation is that during the past quar- ter century they have been deteriorat- ing in quality and advancing in price until in most cases the price is out of proportion to the service rendered. More than 2.5 years ago A. I. Root introduced a chaff hive that provided much better winter protection than any that have appeared since that time, but it being quite elaborate, the ad- vance in the price of labor and material increased the cost of its manufacture until the selling price rendered its use prohibitive. This resulted in the modi- fication of the original hive, which re- duced the price as well as the quality, for it was robbed of its most desirable features ; and still the price of labor and material has advanced until the cost of production has rendered the second edition prohibitive, and this is also true of all chaff hives. In a new catalog issued by a western firm, chaff hives are listed at $4-2.'i with- out any summer equipment except fr-imes ; which means that we must pay that price for indifferent winter pro- tection, with an added expense for sum- mer equipment necessary to make it an all-the-year-around hive. When we consider that the price is as low as is consistent with the cost of production, the logical conclusion is that the times are fully ripe for a revo- lution in wintering methods that will consign all such expensive wintering equipment to the scrap heap in favor of a hive that provides perfect protec- tion for its colony 3i;.') days in the year with practically no extra equipment more than is required for summer use. The hive that will do it is already in the field ; it is named " the convertible hive," and is the result of a happy blending of the principles of economy of construction, simplicity of equip- ment, and utility of manipulation. No hives for sale. BEES AND ODORS. On page 20 is an article by Arthur C. Miller, on odors and their relation to the introduction of queens. While the direct introduction of queens with the fumes of smoke from burning to- bacco has been practiced for many years, to Mr. Miller belongs the credit of the discovery that clean smoke from ordinary combustible material answers the purpose fully as well with none of the evil effects upon the bees resulting from tbe sickening fumes of burning tobacco. While this important dis- covery will undoubtedly mark an epoch in the history of queen intro- ducing methods, it is not clear wherein the success of this method disproves the odor theory; on the contrary, it may be so construed as to present about the strongest circumstantial evi- dence in support of that theory that has yet appeared. His e.xperiments with different odors and perfumes smeared over queens prove nothing, when met by the one fact that smoke is a great deodorizer, for the defence will stoutly maintain that in the presence of smoke all other odors are obliterated, while the one odor, that of smoke, permeates the hive and contents, and deprives the bees of their onlymeansof distinguish- ing friends from strangers; for with bees it is evident that unity of odor means unity of associations, and smoke evidently is the most harmless and economical unifier of odors in exis- tence. It is useless to ignore the fact that the sense of smell is more highly de- veloped in bees than in most animals and insects, and we have tangible evi- dence to show that this faculty enables them to locate fields of nectar at a considerable distance from the hive. Bee hunters are enabled to attract bees by the odor of burning honey, and strong circumstantial evidence is not lacking to show that the fine sense of smell is their only means of distin- guishing friends from strangers. Mr. Miller has said that pounding on the hive, and otherwise disturbing and exciting the bees will answer the pur- pose of direct introduction of queens as well as smoke. This is accounted for by the fact that when bees are thus ruthlessly disturbed they become panic stricken to such an e.xtent that all their energies and senses are devoted to the one object of self preservation ; and if a strange queen is given at this time, the chances are that she will not be molested, because her presence will not be noticed until such time as she will have acquired the colony odor, when she will be perfectly safe. It is reasonable to suppose that this odor is very quickly acquired where the queen has access to the combs and honey. Without fear of successful contradic- tion, I maintain that when deprived of the colony odor, bees will readily and eagerly accept any number of queens without smoke or disturbance of any kind. We have proved this hundreds of times, when putting up small pack- ages of combless bees for shipment. We first scoop in the required amount of bees, drop in a strange queen, and May, 11114. American ^ee ' JonrnaJj close the hole. Since smoke is the most economical method of obliterat- ing the hive odor, it is undoubtedly ahead of all other methods of direct introduction of queens, but evidence to disprove the odor theory is sadly lacking. The article mentioned is rendered further conspicuous because it intro- duces a trait in boe nature that has es- caped my notice during the 35 years that I have handled bees. This refers to the statement by friend Miller, to the effect that when combs with adhering bees are taken from a hive and kept separate for li> minutes or more, upon again returning them to the hive the bees will fight among themselves until one-fourth of the colony is destroyed. Such an unusual occurrence if reported by a novice would cause a smile and a whisper, "robbers" In any event, however, such occurrences are of too doubtful nature to be accepted in sup- port or disapproval of any theory what- soever. The logical conclusion is that the odor theory still remains intact. Beekeepers I Have Known— "Hamlin B.Miller" BY FR.\NK C. PELLETT. BEE FEVER, like other diseases, varies in the intensity of the at- tack. Ham Miller has it bad. Doc- tors tell us that disease is seldom con- tracted in the open air, but that is just where Miller was exposed. Miller has a print shop in Marshall- town, and, by the way, he must have a good one, judging from the quality of his output. Not long since the M. D.'s caught Miller unawares, looked at his tongue and felt his pulse and decided that he was going into a decline. It was accordingly decreed that he must stay outdoors, get tanned, play with the kiddies, and amuse himself with a lawn mower and a croquet set. Living in town, he has near neigh- bors. He had known, in a dim sort of way, that there were others living near, but up to this time he had been so oc- cupied with his print shop that he had not had time to observe them closely. One morning not being permitted to go to the shop, and as the prescription required that he be outdoors, and the lawn had been mown three times already, there was really nothing to do. He looked over the back fence to see what his neighbor might be about. He could hardly believe his eyes, for there, standing over an open hive, was a live man. Miller nearly had a fit, but the neighbor was not the least bit ex- cited, although he removed the frames, examined the interior of the hive, and even allowed the bees to calmly crawl over his hands. When our friend had sufBciently recovered himself, he began to ask questions, and within a few days there was a sudden rise in his tempera- ture, for he had contracted another dis- ease, which was destined to become sufficiently acute to demand severe measures in its treatment. Miller had developed a case of bee fever in its most tenacious form. Well, tliey bought bees (by this time Mrs. Miller was developing slight symptoms also), bee books and bee journals, and all the experiments that were tried on the luckless occupants of those pretty hives in the Miller back- yard would fill a book. Now when you meet Ham he is prepared to talk bees, morning, noon or night. Of course, with the fever running so high, our friend from Marshalltown was one of the first on the ground for last year's convention. The beekeep- ers present, recognizing the value of enthusiasm, elected him as a member of the board of directors of the State Association. It was not long before it became very apparent that no mistake had been made, for Miller was wide awake when anything relating to the interests of the society needed atten- tion. Hamlin B Millek. On one occasion I was called to Des Moines, by a member of the legisla- ture, to appear before a committee in support of the bills asked for by the association. About the first thing this member showed me, was a letter he had received from Miller. This letter was written on a nice letter head which advertised the fact that Hamlin B. Miller conducted a print shop at Mar- shalltown. where he was prepared to furnish nice printed matter for your correspondence and a rubber stamp to sign your name. The letter demanded, or rather commanded attention from the very first line, and it fairly sizzled with information about foulbrood among bees and glanders among horses, and what the legislature owed to the beekeeping interests of the State. It soon became apparent that this mem- ber's neighbor had a similar letter, and before long I discovered that every member of the house and senate had a letter from Ham Miller, appealing to them to look after the interests of the beekeepers. These letters were not without influence, I feel very sure. When Miller had honey for sale he persuaded his neighbors fhat it was just a little bit nicer than any other honey they had every tasted, and proved it to them by sample. He ac- cordingly sold his crop for 25 cents per pound, and it was worth it, too. Miller has not kept bees very long, and as yet does not keep very many, but his is one of those cases of for better, or for worse, until death do us part, and in due time we will see him on the front row with the big honey producers. A more enthusiastic bee- man was never allowed to run at large, and had he made as much noise about his printing as he does about his bees, he would have long ago had to run a night shift to keep them from getting swamped. .Atlantic, Iowa. Odor and Queen Introduction BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. DR.BRUNNICH'Sarticlein the March issue of the American Bee Jour- nal is interesting, but at the same time a bit puzzling. He says the " ab- solutely safe introduction of queens" is for him " an unsolved problem." Just what does he mean by "absolutely safe ?" In this country, if we can aver- age 99 percent of suceessful introduc- tions when putting in thousands of queens, we consider such a system as near "absolutely safe" as anything human can be. He says he tried the direct method years ago, and that the new direct method "does not differ essentially from the old one." It differs very ma- terially. I, too, tried the older direct methods many years ago, dropped them, took them up again, and finally evolved the system which is now so Successful. If Dr. Brunnich will de- queen a colony with as little disturb- ance as possible, then close the en- trance to the width of an ordinary mailing cage, give the bees two or three puffs of thick white smoke, so it will drive well inside the hive, close the hive for three to five minutes, then run in the new queen, leaving the col- ony confined for five minutes, and at the end of that time opening a small space at one corner, giving the whole entrance when they have quieted down, I think he will have no further trouble with the direct method. The new method being so successful here, in so many thousands of cases, I cannot but feel that the Doctor has missed some part or overdone some. As to the odor factor: He refers to anointing a queen with the juice of crushed workers. The experiment proves nothing. Had he anointed sev- eral queens thus, fixed a similar num- ber with an odor known to be disliked by the bees and used a similar number without treatment, and then had those anointed with the crushed workers ac- cepted and the others destroyed, his experiments would have indicated something. I have anointed queens with all sorts of odors admitted to be repulsive to bees, as human perspiration, that from animals, etc., and by the smoke method have not failed to have all of them ac- cepted, which indicates thatsuch odors do not cause the bees to refuse the queen. He says: "It is not to be forgotten that not in a single circumstance does the scent decide the good or bad re- 168 May, 1914. American T^ee Joarnal| suit, but there are always a number of facts to influence it," and I heartily agree with him. But I further main- tain that scent is the /rasl of all the factors, admitting at the same time that bees have an acute sense of smell for some things. He says he upholds the theory that it is the scent which enables the bees to distinguish each other, and he cites sex odor in moths. But I beg to call his attention to the fact that the male bees are not attracted to the queens by odor, but by wing sound, just as with mosquitoes, in which it can be ob- served excellently. I admit that each co/o>iy may have its individual odor, but I deny that a bee, after a long foraging trip, will retain enough of it to affect her reception by an alien colony. On the contrary, every observation indicates that it is wholly the individual bee's behaz'ior which governs her reception. Here are some facts which go far to disprove the theory of the individual odor affecting a bee's reception. A worker returning laden from the field may enter anywhere. Golden Italians are the worst sneak thieves on record. They enter any colony at any time un- challenged, help themselves and take their load away. There is no difficulty in observing their behavior in an api- ary of darker bees. Queenless bees will join a near by colony with a queen, and no sign can we see that the receiving colony no- tices them as strangers. In one of my apiaries I use many " baby nuclei," and I transpose and move them at pleasure and get no fighting. It may be said it is because they all come from one stock hive, but they do not. When I am through with any of them, combs and bees are set into any stock hive. Fight ? Rarely. But the field bees from these nuclei after hovering about the old location may be seen going into near by hives, both nuclei and full colonies and not a challenge. Have they lost their odor, or have the guards forgot- ten to smell ? A drone can go in anywhere and not be challenged, unless a colony is ex- pelling its drones, and then no drone can enter. Have not drones the odor of their own colony ? Dr. Brunnich very properly ques- tions the identity of unmarked queens. I use a system far better than pa.nt. All the queens of one year have the wings on the right side clipped, all of the next year those of the left side clipped, and I requeen all colonies every year. If I take out a lot of queens with right wings clipped, and run in a lot of new ones with left wings clipped, and all my colonies so treated have those left-wing clipped queens there until the next year, it will take something more than argument to convince me that the queens in those hives are not the ones I put there. Dr. Brunnich works with black bees which we Americans will not tolerate. My work is chiefly with Italians, but I requeen all black colonies I meet with- in my inspection work by the direct method, and have been as successful as with Italians. \s to requeening without dequeen- ing, I put it forward as something worth further investigation in coiiiu-c- tioii iL'ilfi the new method of introduc- tion. I expressly stated that it was as yet quite in the experimental stage, but that it was promising enough to warrant further research, and I believe that if many are at work on it the knowledge of its limitations will be the sooner known. I beg that Dr. Brunnich will try the new direct method again, for if he can master it, he will find it of great help and pleasure. Providence, R. I. Using Dry Combs to Prevent Shaking Twice in Foulbrood BY THOS. CHANTRY. IN YOUR REPORT of the Iowa State Beekeepers' Association the expla- nation of my method described by Mr. E. G. Brown, I fear is a little mis- leading (page 50). It saysthatthe bees at once deposit the honey of their sacs into that dry comb, and by removing it promptly there is no need of shaking the second time. In reality it takes two days to get the honey, and then there must be a honey-flow. The sec- ond day in the evening, during a honey- flow, quickly remove the comb; brush in front (not shake as some honey might be shaken out), and place the comb in a hospital or boil it. and in mild cases that will cure. For the worst cases use two or three old worth- less combs and no starters for two days. Then in the evening remove as above and then use one drv comb and starters as stated by Mr. Brown, and your worst case is cured. Our reasons for using this method is to prevent absconding, which it doesto a minimum. I have also proved that you can use from four to six deposit combs (any good dry, clean combs) for two days. At any time of day take them away as above stated, and repeat with other de- posit combs according to size of swarm for two days as before, taking them away as before, and then give those bees a full set of clean combs and they are cured. These deposit combs that contain the honey from the bees along with their nectar may be extracted and every cell filled with water and then immersed in clear water and weighted down for 24 hours, tlien the water thrown out and the comb filled again with fresh water and rinsed out. They are then clean and need not be destroyed. We have also proved that all combs from a foulbroody colony that are completely filled with honey may be cleaned by extracting and washing as above, by filling and soaking 24 hours, and filling again and rinsing them. This process is quicker than to melt the combs and refill the frame with foundation, if we are properly prepared for it. It increases the yield consider- ably more than the use of foundation. Wellington, Utah. A Cute Covkr — When in .Sioux City. Iowa, last fall I saw at Mr. F.spy's place a hive cover madt; of cedar or cypress shineles. They were put thin to butt ends, and there was a thickness of lar paper between them. I am not (luiti- sure about the cleat across the ends. Init I think they were on. This could be doubled, buttint; a Winch strip be- tween the two. and thus have a cool cover at a very nomiii.il cost, or one such as illus- trated under a cover would serve that purpose. One should. I think, use a ?j-inch wroutht nail tliat it miyht be clenched easily. Common wire nails are rather stiff.— A F. BONNKV. Should We Retail Extracted Honey in Liquid or Gran- ulated Form? BY C. B. HOWARD. {RciiJ he fore the New York Association of Bee- t^ee/'Crs' Societies.) I BELIEVE this is a very important subject, and one that should be studied and analyzed by all pro- ducers of extracted honey, so that they may be able to place their products before the consumer in the most salable and profitable form. The beekeepers are going into the production of extracted honey more and more each year, and it behooves theiTi to try to create a larger demand for their products from the retail mer- chants. Putting up extracted honey in the liquid form in glass packages for which the consumer has to pay from 20 to 80 cents per pound, is well enough as far as it goes, but the trouble with this method is that it does not dispose of the honey in sufficient quantities to move the ever increasing supply caused by the beekeepers changing from comb to extracted honey production. If the production of extracted honey is to be more profitable than comb, it is necessary to be able to sell the same for at least a trifle more than half the price of comb honey, and we should be able to place it before the masses at a price that will appeal to them as be- ing an economical food as well as a wholesome and delicious luxury. In retailing extracted honey it de- pends largely upon conditions whether it should be in the liquid or granulated form. If it is being peddled out or sold and delivered direct to the con- suirer in glass jars or tin pails, it is usually best to have it in the liquid form. This method is all right fpr small quantities, but the trouble is, the honey is only oft'ered for sale by a few producers and to a very small percent- age of the consumers. What appears to me to be the right and best way to get the public to use extracted honey is to sell it in the granulated form through the regular channels of trade, the produce stores. The following method seems to be the best way to obtain these results: Have tin trays made about one inch larger than a (iO-pound can of honey laid on its side, with the sides of the tray about one inch high so as to re- tain any honey that might become dis- lodged, place these in the store where the honey is to be sold, in a glass May, 1914. 169 American Hee Journal show-case, so the honey will be pro- tected from dirt and dnst. Cut the can of honey open and place the solid granulated cake on the tray. It is then ready to be cut off, weighed and sold by the pound in quantities to suit the customer, the same as you would sell lard or butter, and at a price that will appeal to them as being an economical food. If the store-keeper has the room it vv ould be advisable to have three trays, one for clover, one for amber, and one for buckwheat honey. If the space is limited, it would be best to place on sale the clover honey. This method reduces the cost of handling and eliminates the e.xpense of li(iuefy- ing and filling glass or tin packages, and the cost of labels and packages. It places the honey before the consumer at the lowest possible price. This is one of the great questions before the American people today, to get products from the producer to the consumer with the least possible ex- pense, so that the so-called high cost of living may be reduced. Honey may be placed in stores in this way at from 8 to 11 cents per pound, and should be retailed at from 12 to 1.5 cents per pound. This is the lowest price at which honey in any form can be re- tailed for at a profit to both the pro- ducer and seller. Mr, C. B. Howard in His Apiary. This is no theory that has not been tried out, but the actual results that have been under my observation as a wholesale dealer. I would cite to you one instance in a small city in this State, where over 10,000 pounds of ex- tracted honey were disposed of in this manner in one winter, in addition to the regular amount of comb honey and extracted sold in glass. If this method of selling extracted honey could be carried out throughout all the markets in this country, a vast amount of honey would be consumed, and there would be a demand created for extracted honey unheard of in the annals of ex- tracted-honey production. Geneva, N. Y. Convention ^ Proceedings The Pennsylvania State Beekeepers' Convention The Pennsylvania State Beekeepers' Association held their 10th annual meeting in the State Capitol at Harris- burg Feb. 20 and 21. It was a very lively meeting, and from the point of enthusiasm perhaps the best ever held. Dr. H. A. Surface, State Zoologist, who is the president, was in charge of the meeting. The address of welcome was given by Hon. N. B. Critchfield, who is the Secretary of .'\griculture of Pennsylvania. The subject of "Comb and extracted honey in the same apiary" was dis- cussed by H. P. Faucett. He runs his yard for both kinds of honey, and says that colonies that sometimes cannot be coaxed into section supers will work in extracting frames. F. G. Fox spoke on "500 percent in- crease and a crop of honey." He dem- onstrated how it is possible with nat- ural swarming to take the parent colony after the swarm has issued and divide it into nuclei and build these up into full colonies. The foulbrood inspectors, Geo. H. Rea and Jno. O. Buseman, made their reports on inspection. These were quite interesting in facts, and exceed- ingly amusing in the experiences the inspectors had with the different kinds of people they met in their rounds. Inspection is doing a great work for beekeeping interests simply by the con- tact of the inspector and the education that is spread over the State in this way. Bees are yet kept in all sorts of ways : logs, bee-gums, straw skeps, soap boxes, and even some have been found in beer kegs. The Coons hive for comb honey was a demonstration made by R. L. and A. N. Coons, of Coudersport. This is a shallow chamber hive of their own make, with which they have been very successful. This year's crop was 28,000 pounds of section honey from 400 col- onies. These people, father and son, are the largest producers in the State. Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the University of Philadelphia, who was on his way back from the National convention at St. Louis, and who was the delegate from Pennsylvania to the convention, gave an address on "Two Essentials in Honey Production." He laid em- phasis on having the bees go into win- ter quarters strong and with plenty of stores, so as to have plenty of bees early enough to get the honey-flow when it comes. A large number of us have plenty of bees when the main flow is over and when the bees are not needed. F. J. Stritmatter spoke on "House Apiaries." This subject aroused con- siderable interest, as it is quite novel to Pennsylvania people. One of his buildings is a 3-story building 20x30 feet. This contains 8fi colonies in hives built solid to the floor of the room. His experience tells him that he has solved to a great extent the wintering and the swarming problems by means of the house apiary. "Soil Fertility and Honey Produc- tion " was the subject of the president's annual address. Dr. Surface told the beekeepers to increase the fertility of their soil by sowing the legumes: clover, alfalfa, vetches, etc., and by so doing reap another crop, that of the sweet nectar which these secrete. Dr. H. A. Surface, of Harrisburg, was re-elected president ; H. C. Klinger, of Liverpool, secretary-treasurer; Hon. E. A. Weimer, of Lebanon, 1st vice- president; Mrs. Dr. L. M. Weaver, of Philadelphia, 2d vice-president; and R. L. Coons, of Coudersport, 3d vice- president. H. C. Klinger, Sec. In a Small Way. l/././OT-" Well, James. I'm going to start bee-keeping. James—" Bees is nasty, troublesome things! ma am.' .I/.j',;ot— "Oh. but I shall startMn a very small way— just a pair to begin with.',— /,<■«- don Sketch. 170 May, 1914. American Bac Jonrnalj Dr. Miller^s Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the American Ree Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Mii.i.er. Marengo. III. He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail. How to Tell Pure Homey How do you tell whether honey is pure ? New Jersey. Answer.— I don't know any way by whicli a mere beekeeper like you and me can tell for certain whether honey is adulterated. Usually, however, if there is much adultera- tion in the case, a pretty good guess can be made by the taste.— [See article by Alin Caillas inMarch number— Editor 1 A Beginner's Questions 1. Is it neces.ary for a beginner to use a drone and queen trap ? 2. Could one keep several different races of bees in the same apiary ? 3. Would you recommend the division- board feeders for beginners ? J. What months do bees generally swarm ? 5. What month can honey be harvested ? 6. I have a colony of bees which I captured from a bee tree. 1 have them in the cellar. They have iS pounds of capped honey. They seem restless, and bees come out of Ihe hives and don't return. The temperature is ,10 degrees where they are. What is the cause of this? New York. Answehs.— 1. No; and the advanced bee- keeper may get along very well without 2. Unless it be for the sake of experiment- ing with a different race, it is better not to try to keep more than one kind. Kven with only one. you may find it beyond you to keep them pure; for they will mix with bees as far as a mile or two away and farther. 3. They are excellent where you do not care to feed a larger amount than they con- tain. 4. In the State of New York June is the greatest swarming month, with a few swarms in May. some in July, and a few still later. 5. Comb honey is generally ready to be harvested whenever it is fully sealed over. That probably means in your locality that most of it will be taken off in July and Au- gust, and still later if there is a late flow. The same rule applies to extracted honey, only some of the best beekeepers prefer to leave all on the hives until the close of the season. 6. It would be better if they were warmer. Still, there are always some bees dying in winter. Keeping Honey Liquid L My honey granulates very soon after it is extracted and put in glass jars for retail trade. I always melt it before taking it to grocery stores, but in a few weeks it granu- lates again and the store-keeper has the im- pression it has spoiled. I put labels on tell- ing them what to do with it, but it does no good. The same store-keepers will buy honey put up by some company while it remains liquid for a year. This honey has a serial number on it. Mow can this honey remain liquid, have a serial number, and still an- swer the pure food law ? 1 read in the Hee Journal that honey that granulates shows it is pure. ■ ..i » 2. Where can I buy s-ounce bottles for ex- tracted honey ? New Jersey. Answers -I. There is quite a difference in honey as to the matter of candying; some of it begins to candy about as soon as it is extracted, while a very few sorts may re- main liquid a year or more. The honey in question may have been of the latter sort. It is also possible that it would not come up to the requirements of the pure-food law, serial or no serial. Persistence on your part in trying to educate the public as to the purity of candied honey will probably win in the long run. Indeed it might not be a bad thing for you to furnish it in the can- died state, and let them learn to liquefy it. 1. Likely through any of the large dealers in beesupplies. Good Crop in Colorado I started last season with n colonies of bees. I secured ii8o pounds of extracted honey, and have 20 colonies now. I have my bees packed in straw with about 60 pounds of honey left to each 1 Is it best to keep the heavy snow shov- eled ,nway from the entrance of the hives ? 2 Will bees that are queenless go through the winter when they have plenty of stores ? COLORAUO. Answers —I. Sometimes it is better to h.Tve them covered up with snow, and some- times not. Sometimes when covered up they are too warm, and it may happen that slushy snow may fill the entrances and freeze there. On the whole it may be best to keep the entrances shoveled open. 2. They may; but not so well as with a Laying Queens and Virgins— Rearing Queens 1. When bees are in trees 1 have read that the best plan is to take the log home, pre- pare a small colony or a nucleus in a mod- ern hive, place the hive beside the log, put a Porter bee-escape over the log, and as fast as the bees come out they will go into the new hive. But I don't know whether to use a virgin queen or a laying queen. Which is better? 2 Is it a good plan to rear queens in the same hive where there is a laying queen and have them fertilized in an upper story by putting a queen-excluder between ? 3. Wouldn't I get more honey by having two laying queens in a hive; first a hive- body then a super, then a honey-board; next a hive-body with the second queen, lastly a cover. Would the two laying queens fight throuijh the honey-board ? 4. How can I rearandiniprovemy queens? How are the best queens reared ? For ex- ample. I have a hive of bees with a laying queen. I put in cell-cups, and in them a worker larva from the same hive. When the new queen-cell hatches it is a virgin When she takes her wedding flight she meets a drone of the same hive, a drone that comes from one of the eggs that her mother layed; thus being her brother. =,. Which is the best way to rear good queens? New Hampshire. Answers— I. The bees will feel more at home with a laying queen than with a virgin Instead of setting the new hive beside the log hive, it might be better to set it directly on top. 2. With me the plan has generally been a failure. 3. The queens could not very well fight, but I don't think you would gain by the plan. One of the (lueens is likely to disappear be- fore long. 4 If virgins mate with drones from the same mother, they will deteriorate; but that is not likely to happen, for the virgins may meet drones from other hives in your apiary, or from hives a mile or so away. 5. The first point in rearing best queens is to keep record of the work of each colony, and then to breed queens from the best. There are different methods of rearing queens, and it would be beyondthe compass of this department to go into full particu- lars. Such particulars were, however, given as to the plan I like best and use, in a former number of this journal, and also in " Fifty Years Among the Bees." very fully. Feuding Granulated Honey- Swarming -Prevention of 1. I have a lotof frames full of honey nicely capped and in a cool room where the tem- perature goes down to zero. I presume this honey is granulated. I intend to take those frames in the spring and divide them among my colonies as feed. Is this frozen honey good; can the bees tluiu' that out or will they carry the sugar out instead of using it for brood-rearing? 2. If you melt 10 frames of comb will you have wax enough to produce 10 frames of foundation? In producing extracted honey is it always best to give foundation instead of dry combs in the brood-nest ? This would be an expensive outlay to buy every year new foundation and not have much income from the surplus old combs. 3. I have read about concentrating the brood-nest to five frames with inch starters in producing comb honey. Wouldn't it work to put a deep super with lu shallow extract- ing frames under the comb-honey supers, excluder between, and shake the bees into that super with shallow frames, and at the close of the honev-flow add another shallow superl? This would make a divisible hive. Will it work ? 4. I always make my bees strong in spring, then I add a super with shallow extracting frames, no excluder. When the white clover is in full bloom I shake all my bees into an empty new hive with five frames and inch starters, but last year I had almost as many drones as workers. They also filled the vacancy between the 5-inch starters and the body with natural combs, as I had only one division-board next to the comb. It was a very disagreeable job to cut this wild comb out, still I had an average of five su- pers of comb honey in each hive. 5 I also have read in " Fifty Years Among the Bees " the plan to produce comb honey by manipulating tivo hive bodies just before the honey flow. Put excluders between the two brood-nests, and in 10 days put the queenless part down, cut queen-cells out. and give them their queen. I have tried this plan, but in a short time the bees were ready to swarm again. Wisconsin. Answers.— I. The honey is entirely whole- some, but very likely the bees will waste a good deal of it by carrying out the undis- solved granules. You can do something to prevent that if you will go to the trouble of spraying the combs with warm water by means of an atomizer, first uncapping any cells of honey that may be sealed. When the combs are cleaned off dry by the bees, they may be sprayed again. Don't begin this until the bees are flying freely. 2. Ten Langstroth brood-combs will pro- duce from i'« to 2'i pounds of wax. Ten full sheets of medium brood foundation will weigh a little less than i!4 pounds. 3. With shallow frames in a deep super there is danger that you would have all sorts of combs built to the bottom-bars in the empty space. Also there would be too much danger that they would not build in the super given after the flow was over. 4. Yes. you may expect too much drone- comb with nothing more than inch starters. 5. With me they are not ready to swarm again in a short time, at least rarely. But you made an unwarranted variation from the plan given in the book. You say "just be- fore the honey-flow to put excluder between the two." etc. Please look again and see if you will find in the book anything about "just before the honey-flow." Instead of that I don't operate until queen-cells are started; and not then if I can stop them May, 11114. American ^ge JoarnaJJ froniiioing fatlher. 1 lie Hrst time queen cells are foiiml started they are destroyed, and then every in days after that they are destroyed atiain. so lonn as nothing hut edsjs are found or very small larva:-, even if that BOes on the whole season, but when big grubs or sealed cells are found, then it is time to operate. Miscellaneous Questions 1. I have a colony of bees tliat was running out at the en trance and seemed to be greatly excited on March 27. Looking on the ground I found the tiueen dead before the hive. The next day 1 opened the hive, and to my sur- prise found tour frames partly hlled with brood and some queen-cells. What was the cause of the queen dying P J. What would be the result if young queens were to hatch out of these cells and no tlrones were present in the hive or in other hives at this time of tlie year. April ? i- Wliat should be done in such a case ? 4. When is the best time to transfer bees from box liives into frame hives? =;. Is it practical to paint the covers of the double telescopic metal roof ? 6. Can bees be given too much shade in early spring ? 7- .Should I put swarms into hives with frames with full sheets of foundation or one inch starters ? H. What is the best race of bees for this country, this being about the i8th degree of latitude ? 'I When is the best time to requeen to im- prove slock ? 10. Is the smoking plan the best method of introduction ! Kentucky. ■ Answers.—!. I don t know. If you had opened the hive not long before, it is pos- sible you may have accidentally killed her, .She may have died of old age. Sometimes bees ball and kill their own queen. 2. 'I'hey might begin laying without mating, being drone layers; or they might wait and mate later on. In any such case queens would most likely be very poor. 3. A frame of young brood and eggs might be given every 10 days, not allowing queen- cells to mature until warm weather with drones. It might be more profitable to unite with the queenless colony a weak swarm with a good queen, or else to divide the queenless bees among other colonies where they would do the most good. 4. In fruit bloom used to be the favorite time; nowadays it is considered better to wait until the colony swarms, hiving the swarm in a good hive, and then uniting the rest of the bees at the end of 21 days, break- ing up the old hive at the same time. 5. I think so. b. Yes; at that time it is better to have the sun shine on the hive at least part of the day. 7. Better use full sheets. With anything less you are sure to get too much drone comb. 8. You are probably as safe with Italians as any other. 'J. Suit your convenience any time when bees are busy gathering. 10, I don't know. Some are very enthusi- astic about it. but not many have yet tried it very fully. What to Do Willi a Queenless Colony Doctor! what am I to do ? A fine lo-frame hive with plenty of stores and of bees— but tju^i-nlt-ss. I dare not ship a queen from the South, as a cold snap would kill her if a frame of brood from another hive is intro- duced and a queen is reared; there are no drones for her to mate w'ith. Laying work- ers may develop at any time. But I do hate to lose that colony. What would r<*« do ? Other colonies are breeding finely; new bees tiying; abundantsupplies of pollen and a little honey from the elms and early ma- ples. Dandelions. (\>fitf days' journey of Mathis. My three-banded Italians captured first prize again at Dallas State Fair and the Cotton Palace Fair at Waco. This speaks for itself — none better. For my stock I secured the best stock obtainable, and when you pay more than my prices you are paying that much extra. I sell nothing only good queens. None better. I positively guarantee my queens to please. No foul brood. References: — Mathis 1st State Bank and the American Bee Journal. B. M. CARAWAY, Mathis, Texas SPEND LESS TIME IN THE SHOP rand more with your bees by using the Rauchfuss Combined Section Press and Foundation Kastener. Guaranteed to give satisfaction or your money back. Price, complete with lamp and treadle, delivered ^■^ by parcel post. $3.00; cash with order. Write today for illustrated cir- >.^ cular to ^ The Colorado Honey-Producers' Association ^*d%^"%^o*- FLAX BOARD The cost of F"lax Board is small. It undoubtedly will pay foi itself many times every season. You. of course, know that you must protect your bees against the cold in spring if you want to rear brood for the early honey crop- You also know that most of the heat escapes at the top of your hive while the cold comes in at the bottom. With the use of Flax Board, however, you can entirely overcome this. We will gladly send you a small sample free if you will write for it One-half inch thick Flax Board to Ht top of hive: Size. Price. Weight. 8-frame ■ > .10 each I'/i lbs. loframe 11 " i!: " Order a lot. Try them on some of your hives and compare the difference. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY 00. 100 Nicollet Island Minneapolis, Minn. .^fanufacturers or Dovetailed Ifizies, Sections, and Skifping Cases. Try My Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what one customer writes - JOSEI'HINE. Tex.. June lo. igij. Mr. M. Bates. Greenville. Ala. Dfiir Sir.— I am sending you $0.00 for which please send me 12 Untested Golden Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are tine, and old bee rearers say they are the finest they ever saw. They have surely made a . reputation here for you. Several men say they will order queens soon. A. M. Morrison. I have other letters that say the same. Selected Untested, each $1.00: Tested, each $1.50; 2-frame nuclei, each $2.50. I guarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. M. BATES, Route 4, Greenville, Ala. UNTESTED QUEENS, 7SC each; 750 per dozen. Tested. Ji. 50. Breeders (choice,. $5.00. Nuclei. $1.25 per frame; good supply of bees. 'A \b. Bees (Italians) with untestedqueen. $2 =0. One pound with untested queen, ts.oo. Full colony in 8-frame hive, withqueen. $6.50. Full colony in lo-frame hive, with queen. $7.50. Inquiries from jobbers solicited. Sale arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. Excel- lent mail and express service. Only twelve hours ride to St. Louis. Mo. Can ship March 20; probably March 10. Pure Buff Leghorn and Ancona eggs for hatching. Jr. 00 per setting. STOVER APIARIES Mayhew, Mississippi TAYLOR'S 1914 THREE-BANDED Italian Queens Now ready by mail; 2t) years' careful breed- ing for the best honey-gatherers. None bet- ter. Prolific, and honey-getters. We fill all orders promptly. Untested. Ji.oo each, or $1" a dozen. Tested. $1 25 each, or $12 a dozen. Select tested. $1.50 each, or $15 a dozen. Breeders, the best. $5.00. .Send all orders to J. W. Taylor & Son, Beeville, Bee Co., Tex^ ITALIAN QUEENS NORTHERN BRED Superior winterers, sec- ond to none. My free list explains it all. Untested. $1.00; select tested. Si. 50. Bees by the pound or half pound. Plans, " How to Introduce Queens." is cents, " How to Increase," 15 cents: both. 25 cents. E. E. MOTT, Glen wood, Mich. SAVE YOUR QUEENLESS COLONIES We can Eurnish vigorous Tested Queens by return mail for $1.00 each. Untested Queens ready April 15. $r.oofor single queen: Sqoo per doz. Three-banded Italians only. No disease, and satisfaction guaranteed. J. W. K. SHAW & CO., Loreauville, Louisiana QUEENS OF QUALITY 3-band leather color, Sel, unt, 75c each: $8 00 per doz. Orders booked now. Circular free, J. 1. BANKS, Liberty, Tenn. BEE - SUPPLIES Send your name tor new 1014 catalog out in January. Dept. S, C. C Clemons Bee Supply Co.. Kansas City. Missouri. DOOLITTLE & CLARK Are now booking orders for Italian Breeding Queens. Prices, $2.50, $5.00, and $10. MARIETTA, ONONDAGA CO. N. Y. 176 May, 1914. American Vee Jonrnal WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Pricse. Yours very truly, : ^t^f HILDRETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y. 3 BAND LONG-TONGUED RED- CLOVER ITALIAN QUEENS _ For Sale.— My long- tongued Goldens are proving themselves to be the bee to clean Foul Brood. This is why I have such a large trade in Canada. Mr. E. L. Cox. of Jesup. Iowa, in- troduced soof my ^-band aueens in Foul-Broody colonies in igi2, and he said the disease was cleaned up where each of those queens was put. They gathered such a large crop of honey in IQI2 that he bought 50 more in ion. One Untested, 75c; 6, $4.00; 12. $7.50; 25, $13.50; 50, $25.00 Double the above for tested queens. Bees by the pound: One lb.. $2.00-. 2 lbs.. j4-00. One-frame nucleus. S2.00; 2 frame. $.1.00-3- frame. $4.00. To all the above packages add the price of Queen. I will begin to send out queens in April. Positively no checks will be accepted. Send money by P. O. Money Orders. All queens arriving dead will be replaced if cage is returned by return mail. J. B. ALEXANDER, CATO, ARK. EXTRACTED HONEY Just received car New Utah Alfalfa Honey. 8 1-2 cents a imund f oh Kansas City. Mo C. C. CLEMONS BEE-SUPP. CO. Departnent A, Kansas City, Mo. i MARCHANT'S Three-banded Italian Island-bred Queens Brtd from Selected Matheis And mated to isolated drones of a different strain. My aim is quality and nut quantity. So if you wish any of tliese choice priceless mated queens, order now or you may not get them, as I am only going to rear a limited number. Free from disease, and your money back if not satisfied. The A. I Root (Jo use my queens, which is proof of their quality. No need to write for a lower price. Ref- erence, the American Exchange Bank of this city. Prices, Uniesled. $1 .so. 6 for $6.00; 12 for $10 In lots o( 25 or more. 7SC each. Select Tested. Ji.oo; Breeders. $5 00 and $iu. A. B. MARCHANT Apalachicola, Florida i iMAKtMOREMOHEY ^ « * FROM :bees L Blauke'is Bee. Book Free JOHNNIE-ON'THE-SPOT DELIVERIES When you order Bee Goods, you want them " now"— we are in the very heart of the BeeSection— no city with so good package car service — largest stock west of the Mississippi. When- ever possible, orders shipped same dayasreceived— more carefully pack- ed than ordinary. Blanke's Bee-book Free — a catalog filled with helpful tips for either be- ginner or old timer. Write today be- fore you need supplies. Department 1 Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co. St. Louis, Missouri N»BOOS<»!>e<--«>SiOOO«!COOO«X ITALIAN QUEENS ^ ^ Try Murry's Strain of 3Banded q K Italian Queens jj j5 Best stock obtainable at any price. 18 ^ ears' experience as a queen-breeder. Untested. 7s cts. straight; Tested. Q S $1.00 each. 800.110 per 100. Q After May 10th: D 0 Untested, one for 70 cts.; i for 84.00: X 00: <. s 8 Untested, one for 70 cts.; i for 84.00; X _ 100 for J65.00. Tested, one for $1.00; (. X \ forjs.oo; 100 for 880. ou. Select Tested. S - Si '^o- Breeders. $5 00. 8 Bees by the pound; One pound. $2.00; X .» 10 pounds. $18 so; 100 pounds. S180.00. \ Better let me book yourorders now. X for bees 01 queens in quantities. No X % QMCpMC Pure leather-colored llal- ^C**^"^"^ ians bred in isolaied loca- tion; mated to drones of a heavy storing strain; cannot be beat for comb honey; cap white; enter supers readily, with little in- clination to swarm. tjueens are reared under best possible conditions. Will begin mailing about June 15th. Get your orders in early, as the great- est rush is always at the opening of the sea- son. Orders promptly filled. Safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed. Prices: One. 8sc; 6 for $4-5o: per doz., S8.00, No foulbrood. Send for circular. D. C. LITTLE, HARTLEY, IOWA Buy Carniolans in Carniola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awirded 60 111 Hon*""' Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheiner-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria Q-U-E-E-N-S The Old Reliable 3-Band Stock My queens are reared from imported stock which maites a beauti- ful bee. They are fine honey - gatherers, and very gentle. Try my queens. Send me your order, and if not satis- fied will return your money. Safe arrival guaranteed. Untested Italian, 1, 75c ; 6 $4.25; 12, $8.00. N. FOREHAND, R. F. D. 2, Brewton, Ala. ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS Three-banded. Bred for persistent profit able production of honey. Prolific, hardy, gentle. The bee for pleasure or profit. One customer says. "Your queen soon had her 10 frames running over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction guaran- teed. Orders filled promptly. Ready May 20. aottsted. Sl.OOeach; 6 for S.oO ; do: . {10. Select tested, {2 each. J. F. Archdekin, R. R. 7. SI. Joseph, Mo. Three-Band Italian Queens For 1914 I will again have for sale, after April 1st, young queens reared from my best Leather- Colored Breeders. You will make sure of improving your stock and securing a crop of honey if you introduce some of these •«■« ase as well. HERE YOU ARE The handiest tool in the yard. Combined Hive Tool and Bee Brush. Once used alwa.ys used. Sent by mail, postpaid. THIS LITTLE NAPPY Meets your needs for a Htmey Dish, being a spherical bottom it iust fits thi> spoon the last drop can l)i> dipped up iiolds iust enough -nothing wasted — sent by mail, postpaid. ANT DOPE .'\re you troubled with Ants? My .<\nt Dope is guaranteed to rid your apiary or home of ants. One of the greatest inventions for the apiarist F 11 directions go with each order. Send your name on a card and get prices. (Established in 1878) A. D. D. WOOD, Box 61, Lansing, Mich. May, 1914. 179 American HQe Joarnalj iQooeooGO&oooosocosoocoscooscoooooccoQCisooecosoeceeco NARSHFIELD GOODS BEEKEEPERS:— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. 1 § We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. ^ Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis. <6ceO00COSO00CCOQCOCOQOO0OSOQ<0O0SOSi0O00C000eiS0O9od! Beekeepers' Supplies and Fruit Packages We manufacture the famous Sheboygan Hive, which always gives absolute satisfaction. Our perfect sections, made from selected white basswood, are rec- ognized as the best on the rriarket. Catalog now ready for distribution. Write for copy. SHEBOYGAN FRUIT BOX COMPANY, Sheboygan, Wisconsin I Dittmer's Foundation I I Is the Comb Foundation made to suit the Honey Bee. It's the Comb Foundation that helps pro- duce the full capacity honey crop. It's the Comb Foundation to give your Honey Bees. Ask for more information ; also prices and FULL DISCOUNT on all Bee-Supplies. Gus Dittmer Company Augusta, Wisconsin X>OQiSOSGiQOeOOOCOOCOOOOSOCOOOOOOeCOOOOOOOOOOQiOOCOOOOSOS<: PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. iVIanufacturers OF THE "NONE BEHER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from younc. white, basswood. White Pine Hives and Supers. Excellent Shippine • Cases. Brood-Frames. Se iarators. etc. We invite your correspondence. Guarantee— All roods guaranteed perfect in workmanship and material or money cheerfully refunded. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wis. Early QUEENS Send me your address for Italians and Car- niolans. IBEGIN mailing Queens early in March. Untested, 75 cts. each. Tested, $1.25 each. Circular free. Grant Anderson, ^"V^x^J'"' DUADD WANTS YOUR ORDERS rnilnlf FOR QUEENS Goidens and 3-Banded Itilians I For twelve years we have asked for your orders and we have eottenall we could fill and sometimes more. But we have ever tried to serve you right, and will euarantee similar treat- ment in the future. Prices of Untested. Ji.oo; Tested, $i.5o; Breeders, j.oo to $5.00. Write for prices in laree quantities. 2-frame Nuclei, queenless. J2.25I All 3 ■• •■ ■• 3,25> F, O. B. 10 " colonies with queen 8.001 Berclair. Orders booked now— delivery last of May or June John W. Pharr, Berclair, Texas CARNIOLAN QUEENS Carniolans are excellent winterers, build up rapidly in the spring, arc very gen tie. very prolific, cap their combs very white, enter supers readily, and keep their colonies strong: at all times. Write for our free pa- per. "Superiority of the Carniolan Bee." ex- plaining more fully, eivine briefly best sys- tems of management. Untested queens. $i.oo each; doz.. $q.oo. Full colony with tested queen. 8fr. dove, or Danz. lo-fr., $io. in May. ALBERT G. HANN, Clinton, New Jersey Carniolan Queen- Breeder. MUTH-CINCINNATI " By getting Bee Supplies in carlots and selling them on a close margin, I can name you Factory Prices right here in Cin- cinnati. 1 personally supervise all correspondence and the fill- ing of all orders." -FRED W. MUTH. Muth's Ideal Bee Veil (illustrated herewith) of lightweight indestru_cti- Ijle wire and strong: cauibric: postpaid, 7rx-: with other t^oods. 70c. Send for Our New Catalog Just off the press; complete information and prices about Bee Supplies. PO Ship us your Old Combs and Cappings, and let us render them for you, Our process extracts ■ 9a every particle of wax from the slumgum. This means money for you. Write for particulars. THE FRED W. MUTH CO., "The Busy Bee Men" 204 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio orJ:.;!^: :X: 4 ^1 .^, WE MAKE IT GOOD THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS The Reputation of DADANfS FOUNDATION Has been Duilt on its merit It is a Favorite with Beekeepers BECAUSE It is so well liked by the BEES Whether it's a pound or whtther it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT. Satisfaction Guaranteed jin Every, Way (S ■\^J >, .J-1. i J p. A SWISS BEEKEEPERS' CONVENTION At the apiary of Mr. Belperrin, near Neuchatel, Aug. 17, 1913, mentioned in the Editor's "Notes from Abroad " in this number. June, 1914. American liee Journal ^.j^MJSMIO^^,.^^ PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY American Bee Journal 1st Nat'l Bank BIdg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $1.00 a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada, $i.io: tnd in all other countries in tlie Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December. IQI4. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-Wedonot send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 5 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 3 times I4C a line o times iic a line 6 " I2c " 12 " (i yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices. 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 23d of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Gentle, More lodnstrions, Long Tongaed, The Best Honey-Gatheren. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Agricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. i8v5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. 1806. Bee-Keeping Exhibition, Liege Belgium. i8g(i. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. IQ07. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD I'.xtra BreedingQueens. $3.00; Selected. $2.00; Fertilized. $1.50: lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of the) ANTHONY BIAGGI, National Bee- ,- Pedevilla. near Bellin/ona. Keepers' Ass'n I Italian .Swit/erland, This country, politically. .Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses tlie best kind of bees known. Pkase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. s This is the Discount Season on b I BEE-SUPPLIES AND BEES | I C APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. Write us stating what you are in rii-ed of. and we will quote you. If you sell supplies our discount sheet is yours for the asking. Catalog on I finest, I. J. STRINCHAM 105 Park Place, New York '* //" i^'-ooifs tilt' -wiuUfii ijiiii /;, stnil to J'oH(h-i'." BEE-SUPPLIES EOUIPMENT Store room built expressly for the business; large con- kyuirnltni jj-pte basement with just enough tnoistuie to prevent breakage in sections. No shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. DUALITY Root goods at factory prices. The kind that I have sold for V""^' ' ' nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I might have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but I would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsibility in safe delivery of the goods. Catalog free. WALTER S. POUDER, 873 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 'Griggs Saves You Freight" N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N TOLEDO :xxxxxx# H " Griggs Saves You Freight" With four carloads of new goods on hand, we are now bet- ter prepared for the rush than ever. But don't wait to be in the RUSH. Send your order in now and have the goods on hand, ready for use. New Illustrated Catalog of 60 Pages We want one in every beekeeper's hands. Send postal for one today. It is free; White Clover Extracted Honey Wanted, also Beeswax in exchange for supplies. It will be to your interest to get in touch and keep in touch with us. «... S. J. 24 N. GRIGGS & CO. Erie St., Toledo, Ohio "Griggs is always on the Job." ixxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx^ Banats Queens That "Are Belter" "^"^"^ ^"^ Untested Queens. 75c each. S8.uo iier dozen; two or more dozen in one order. S;.5o per dozen Tested.Queens. $1.25 each; $12.00 per dozen. Breeder Queens. $3.00 each. Korei^n trade add 5 cents each extra. %-\h. pound packages of bees after May 1. S2.00. Select queen wanted, add to this. The ex- press charsres on these will be very small in comparison with charges on frame nuclei. One-frame Nuclei, with untested queen. $2,00 each; 2-frame. Ss.oo; 3-frame. $4.00. Full colony of beesin loframe hive, S7.00. Add 50 cents if Tested Queen is wanted; $2.00 if Breeder Queen is wanted. I'Or ten or more colonies or nuclei, deduct 25 cents each. Ihavesuccessfully shipped bees and queens from this place every month of the year. I started two colonies .Ian. 25 on their voyage to Nutsusarida. Kobe, .lapan. Each con- tained a Breeder Italian Queen. /;,-,»■ .S;>.--The two colonies of bees shipped by you arrived safely, and are perfectly satis- factory. M. Sarida, Kobe. Japan. My Bee and Queen'exhibits at the Stale Kair of Texas were awarded six premiums in i«n. Italians alsoVere'awarded First Prize at the Cotton I'alacc in Waco. Tex. "Your Monkv-s.'worth " is my motio. Terms are ,.<-// with order. I refer you to Sabinal National. Banklorlany business Hrni in Sabinal. I iiave ten yards, and with several hunclred nuclei I can serve many customers. I solicit J. ArSimmons, Uvalde Co. Apiaries, Sabinal, Texas June, 1914. 183 American Vee Joarnal CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or lo frame, 25c each. Covers and bottoms, prices upon application. Fal- con Foundation and Bee Supplies. FROFALCON QUEENS Everything' for tlie bcekeeptr Address. J. C. Frohliger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco PVau mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. D II D il C C ' Foot-Power DAIl nCO Machinery Read what J 1 Pakkht, of ChArt- pon, N. Y., saye. *TVe cat with dim of your Combined Machines, la^ winter 60 chaff hlvea with 7-ln cap.. 100 honey rackB, 600 Dr3Dd-framefl 1,000 hone; -boxes, and a ^reat deai*. of other work. Thlfj winter we hav doobU theamoont of t>e(>-hlve8.eto ,. to maka, and we expect to do It with this Saw. It win do all yoa say 14 wlU." Catalog aod price-list trsft AddMD. w. f, ft MSia aAKirxft Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan bred in separate yards, ready March 20. Untested, one. $1; six. $5; 12. $g: 25. $17.50; 50. $34; 100. $65. Tested, one. $1.50; six. $8; 12. I15. Breeders of either strain. $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame. $2.50; six one-frame, $15; two-frame$3. 50; six two-frame $20. 40: nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $3.00; six one-frame. $17-40; two-frame. $4; six two-frame $2?. 40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalta, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R TraH'- m=lrk (HONEY ^TIME ( r AT ALL DEALERS SAVES j jji'^jjEY , ucALtKb Each, 15c; I>oz., $1.65, postpaid If your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lawistown, lllinoi* BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers Hive-bod- ies. Smokers, etc. Get my prices before placing your orders. R. H. SCHMIDT Rt 3, Box 209, Sheboygan, Wis. WOODMAN'S SECTION FIXER A new machine of pressed-steel construction for folding sections and putting in top and bottom starters at all one handling. With top and bottom starters the comb is firmly attached to all four sides.a requirementto grade fancy. Increase the value of your crop this season by this method. The Editor of the Beekeepers' Review, in commenting on things at the recent Detroit, Michigan, beekeepers' convention, stated: " It was the consensus of opinion of those that saw the machine work, that it was the best thing for the purpose ever brought on to the market." The Chicago-Northwestern Beekeepers' Convention in December unani- mously adopted the following resolutions: Whereas. This convention has been i.mpressed by the exhibit of the Woodman Com bined Section Press and Foundation F'astener. and believe that the same is practical and a labor saver for the beekeepers at large. Therefore, be it RfuihcJ. That the Chicago-Northwestern Beekeepers' Association in convention as- sembled, do heartily endorse the above device as a practical machine for the beekeepers producing comb honey. I. E. PYLKS. ARTHL'R STANLKY. W. B. BLUME. It makes no difference how many or what kind of fasteners you have, we want you to try this one. Your money back if you are not satisfied that it is the best on the market. Send for special circular, showing 10 illustrations. Imme- diate shipment of all goods. 40-page catalog. Price, with one form, 4x5 or 4 1-4x4 1-4, $2.50. Extra form, 15c. Daisy Lamp, 25c. Weight of outfit, 4 pounds. Postage extra. A. G. Woodman Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan MEW BINGHAM The New Bingham Bee-Smoker the all important tool of the most ex- P>EE SMOKER Patented tensive honey-producers of the world. This illustration shows the remarkable steel-fire grate which such men as Mr. France, Mr. Rauchfuss. the Dadants and others say is the best on the mar- ket. The Smoke Engine grate has 381 holes for the air and draft, equal to an opening 2 inches square. Buy the large sizes and be pleased. For sale at your dealers or direct. Weight each. Smoke Engine 4-inch stove — i^lbs. $i.a.s Doctor 354-inch stove.. i?4 " .8s Two largersizesincopper. extra " .w Conqueror 3-inch stove iM " .75 Little Wonder 2!^-inch stove. ..i " .50 Two largest sizes with hinged cover. A. C. WOODMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Michigan Root's Goods in Michigan Our Specialty — The " Root Quality " Bee Supplies to Michigan Beekeepers Prompt Service in Shipping. We sell at factory prices. Beeswax Wanted Send for 1014 Catalog showing our Parcel Post Service. M. H. Hunt & Son, Dept. A, Lansing, Mich. June, 1914. American Hee Journal u falcon' Hives,Supplies and Foundation Everything for the BEEKEEPER "falcon" Foundation made in the "falcon" plant at Falconer, N. Y. SUPPLIES FOR 1914"'rake inventory of supplies now and figure what you will need for a slim season. Get them ready at odd tinii'S in the winter: and if there is a uood season you will have ample time to reorder in April and get them for use. We li- e lo make 'Inventory Sales " of " Falcon " supplies, for we know that we are dealing with an up-to-date beekeeper. INVESTMENT— What is the investment of an extra $25.00 in supplies to the loss of 500 pounds of honey ? Resolve to change for I'ju. and Imiv " Falcon" supplies now. , , . , EARLY-ORDER DISCOUNT— For " Falcon " hives and supplies bought now we give an early-order cash discount equai to 12 percent per year. You see it pays for a strictly money basis. Write for early-order discounts, and send list of wants for " FALCON " QUALITY — In making our beehives, all of our waste lumber is made into cheap toy building-blocks, so that we are able to put better material in our hives and goods. Get a trial lot this fall so that you can see for yourself, and still have lime to order i

-lo each \V^ lbs. lo-frame 11 " I/2 Order a lot. Try them on some of your hives and compare the difference. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY CO. Zlt^ '£,' Manufacturers 0/ Dovetailed Hives, Sections, and Shifting Cases. We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land- None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BKE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. , ,, H. S. Duby. St. Ann*, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. SUPERIOR GOLDEN QUEENS Untested, $1.00; 6, $5.00; 12, $9. Select Untested, $1.25; 6, $6, 12, $10. Prices on application for tested and untested queens by the hundred. Address, T. S. HALL, Talking Rock, Ga. Gray Caucasians Best Bee for Everybody Glass Honey Dishes The Handiest Dish in the Home Cambined Bee-brush and Hive Tool A Great Tool for the Bee Yard Ant Dope Guaranteed to Rid Everything of Ants l'i-ice.s sent fi-ee. Write to-day. A. D. D. Wood Box 61, Lansing, Michigan Am Now Shipping Untesttd Onecna from Ny CELEBRATED PEDIGREED STRAIN! • 1 My bees are the product of many years of breed- ine by both .Swarthmore and Henry Alley. Both names stand out like beacon liehtsamoneour ' past and present breed- ers, for the best queens erer produced in the United States. Never had foul brood. SWARTHMORE APIARIES. Swarthmore, Pt. TAYLOR'S 1914 THREE-BANDED Italian Queens Now ready by mail. ^(> years" careful breed- ing for tlie best honey-gatherers. None bet- ter, Prolific, and lioney-k'ettL'rs. We fill all orders promptly. Untested. Ji.oo each, or $iM a do/cn. Tested. $1 25 each, or $12 a dozen. Select lusti'd. $i,so each, or $is a dozen. iJreeders. the best. $s.oo. Send all orders to J. W. Taylor & Son, Beeville, Bee Co., Tex. Queens of Quality 3 band leather color. I'nl. imc e.ich ; $7.10 ner doz. Sel. Unt.. Ttic each; JH.uii |)it do/. I ircular free. J. I. BANKS, Liberty, Tenn 183 American Hee Journal The Double-Walled Massie Bee-Hive THE MASSIE HIVE For Comb or Kxlracted Honey WHY NOT GIVE US A TRIAL ORDER ? Surest Protection for Bees — Increased Supply of Honey — The Best Hive for any Climate Furnished in the clearest of lumber in either Cypress, White Pine or Redwood THE MASSIE VENTILATED BOTTOM Admits fresh air into the hive, lessening the chance of swarmini;. and givinff renewed enerjiy to the bees. Fifty years in the bee supply business has shown us that the MASSIE is the very best hive, and testimonials to this efifect are received daily from those who are using this hive. SATISFACTION FULLY GUARANTEED The Dovetailed Hive. We are also e.\tensive manufacturers of Dovetailed Hives and all other Apiarian Supplies. If you are in the market for supplies be sure to eet our prices before buying: elsewhere. We issue a 72-patie illustrated catalog which will be mailed to any one upon request, KRETCHMER MFG. CO., COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA FEATURES OF ADVANTAGE OF THE ROLLER ENTRANCE BOTTOM BOARD 1. It allows feeding: during: any time of the day or year— at mid-day or in mid-winter. 2. It controls the mat- ing: of the Queen so that mismating:is prevented. 3. It settles the robber bee question as the rol- ler can be quickly turn- ed to bring: the small entrance into position. 4. It sifts automatical- ly undesirable drones uut of the hive, and cages them in the drone trap. 5. It permits ample ventilation at the heieiht of the honey-flow. 6. It can be instantly closed when meving: bees in and out of cellars or from one yard to another. 7. It permits undesirable queens to be sifted out by screening the bees throueh the wire entrance. H. It prevents swarms from going: to the tops of trees or away to the woods when the beekeeper is away. 0. It practically eliminates swarming, as the colonies usually show no inclination to swarm. Why. I do not know. 10. It is adjustable to make a shallow bottom for summer and a deep one for winter. It contains many other valuable features which will be apparent to any beekeeper upon investieation. and if it isonce tried it will always be used. 8-frame size, $2.00; lO-frame size, $2.50. Italian Queens, Breeders, $10 to $25. Nothing sold under $ro. CHAS. G. SCHAMU S«>OQOOOOOOOOOSOSOnOOOOO»S«X INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER Box 48, LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK TENNESSEE-BRED QUEENS 42 years' experience in queen-rearing— Breed 3-band Italians only Untested Select Untested Tested Select Tested.... Nov. I to May i Ji 50 S 7.50 $13.50 2.00 8.50 IS 00 2 50 13.50 25.00 3.00 16 50 30.00 May I to J jne I June I to J uly I I 6 12 I 6 12 S1.25 t 6 50 Jii.So $1.00 $ 5- 00 $ 0.00 1.50 -■50 13.50 1.25 6.50 12.00 2.00 10.50 18.50 1-75 Q.OO 17.00 2.75 15.00 27.00 2.50 13.50 25.00 Jul y I to Nov. I I 6 12 $.75 $ 4.00 $ 7.50 1.00 5.00 0.00 I. SO 8.00 15.00 2.00 10.00 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year— Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested lor breeding. $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.50 to $10 each. ijueens for e.xport will be carefully packed in loiu' distance ca>;es. Init safe delivery is not guaranteed. John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. NEW ENGLAND BEE KEEPERS Everything in Supplies New Goods. Factory Prices Save Freight and Express Charges CULL & WILLIAMS CO. Providence, R. I. WESTERN BEE KEEPERS S^oneTand get the best s,'oods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver. Colorado W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your Queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-live years of careful breeding brings Laws' Queens above the usual standard; bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist. About so first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested, $1.25; 5 for $500; Breeders, each $500. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Write us for our 04-paee catalog. Free. Full information given to all inquiries. Let us hear from you. We handle the best of bee-supplies for the beekeeper. Our ship- ping facilities are good. We cater to parcel post and express orders— none too small nor too large. Beeswax exchaimod for supplies or cash. John Nebel & Son Supply Co., High Hill, Missouri QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of -ibaiul stock reared for honey- gatherint qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later,7Se Tested, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of having queens when you ^m R. A. SHULTS, Cosby, Tenn. m || The One Subject on Which all Beekeepers Can Agree M i Lewis Sections! I m m m m U^ There are many subjects on which no two beekeepers can agree ; but here is one they can |^W «^ agi-ee on. They all acknowledge that Lewis Sections are the best to be had—that they excel 15?^ fj!^ in quality and workmanship- and when you say Quality and Workmanship, you have said m^S. \t4i all there is to be said about a honey section. ^< y^ Let us take you with us through the different operations and show you how Lewis Sections t^9 W^ are really made. ^►^ «^ [S9 «|"^j^2 First the material, which is the best Wisconsin white basswood that can be obtained, is bought ftj'^ /v^ by an experienced buyer by the carloads — millions of feet of it. It arrives at the Lewis far- leX An torv in the board and is sorted as carefully as a woman picks over strawberries. ti< ^S ^ ^>) y^ The best boards are then sent on their buzzing Journey through the factory fed through a I&9 G^ planer watched over by a veteran in the business— sawed up into correct thicknesses and S9 m(^ lengths and run through a polisher, the sandpaper polishing both ways of the grain. ^^ ft^ Then the particular work commences. Here is where the intricate machinery gets the strips, ^^ u"^ rabbets them, scoi'es them, dovetails them, and then the finished sections are packed away. |W|>) Afcij But the secret is here: This delicate machinery is cai'ed for like a trotting horse— the Lewis nS. >»^ section foreman has been watching it, caring for it, keeping it right for the past thirty years. ^< «^ lay || He is Still on the Job Making Lewis Sections for You || m m u^ No matter what Hives, what Frames, what Supers, and whatnot you use. iVw m Insist on Lewis Sections \^ Every ci-ate going out with the Lewis name means something to you. Here is what one of our l^M l|^ customers has Just written us : ^W ifS] We have been using the G. B. Lewis Company's No. 1 Sections for several igi^ On years, and have a few other makes, but I find the Lewis goods the best. We .-X >^ have put up about ,-)0,000 sections so far this season, and have not found one "-{^ vD^C section in tiie lot that was not perfect. We find they fold perfectly and hold t^v v^ together where some of the other makes come apart. We use the Rauchfuss ^^ ^M Combined Section Press and Foundation Fastener and Dadant's Foundation." G. B. Lewis Company, Watertown, Wisconsin i ^^ Sole Manufacturers ^» P Thirty Distributing Houses. || m Send for the name of the one nearest to you. ^| (Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamilton, 111., under Act of March 3. i87g.) Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First Nationai Bank Building C. p. DADANT, Editor. DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL., JUNE, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 6 Editorial Comments ■ ' ■ I ' ' II- 1 : M ;: ; treat his views. See his article in this number. Wisoonsiu Inspector Report We are in receipt of the 16th annual report of t^e State Inspector of .Api- aries of Wisconsin. Mr. N. E. France shows 285 apiaries inspected containing 9070 colonies. Of these 3117 colonies were diseased in 151 apiaries. Another great advantage derived from the inspection management in Wisconsin, is the information bureau for beekeepers wanting to either buy or sell bees, queens, honey or bee-sup- plies. Every State might have such a bureau of information. Mr. France is doing splendid work for the beekeep- ers of Wisconsin. l>r. 3Icln«loo on the Organs of Smell .\11 who care to be informed as to the natural history of the honey-bee— and every beekeeper should be of that number — will be interested in Dr. Mc- Indoo's investigations regarding the smelling organs of the honey-bee. His conclusions, however, are so radically different from anything passing cur- rent heretofore, that they are not likely to find ready acceptance. Something like this is likely to be said: "That's all very interesting, but not at all con- vincing. As stated in the article, ' Both scientists and beekeepers are now gen- erally agreed that the honey-bee has an acute sense of smell, and that its olfac- tory organs are located in the an- tenna.' Is the generally accepted be- lief to be lightly set aside without the fullest proof? Dr. Mclndoo objects that 'all the antennal organs are cov- ered with a hard membrane through which odors must pass in order to stimulate these organs.' But one gets a rather different impression in reading Cheshire, Vol. I, page 101^ when the ' smell hollows ' of the antenn.e are mentioned as 'covered by a thin layer lying over a goblet-formed cavity be- neath, into which passes a nerve-end cell.' The idea that the bee smells with its sting, an organ nearly always inside the bee, seems a little like a man smell- ing with his liver. We know the queen is accepted or rejected according to its smell, and when a bee is smelling at a queen, or at other bees, we can see it use its antenn;e." However, although it is the general belief that tlie organs of smell are in the antennx, it never has been considered a matter of certainty, Cheshire, on the page already quoted, speaks of certain parts of the antenns as " almost cer- tainly olfactory." That " almost " means that we are still on the lookout to learn whether the organs of smell are in the antenn;e or elsewhere, and if elsewhere, where ? Dr. Mclndoo says he has dis- covered the true organs of smell, and says it with positiveness. No doubt some will ask, " Who is this man, that we should believe such a startling statement from him ?" Mr. Mclndoo is one of that small band of earnest in- vestigators that Dr. E. F. Phillips has gathered about him at Washington. That position entitles to serious con- sideration any statement he may make, and it becomes us to have at least an open mind, watching in the meantime Alfalfa Seed Produced Without the Help of Bees We are in receipt, from the Depart- ment of Agriculture, of a circular let- ter explaining how seed may be pro- duced in alfalfa without the help of bees, by the artificial or accidental "tripping "of the flower. This is the "snapping back of a part of the flower to deposit pollen on the stigma." However, the cross mating of flowers by the fertilization of one blossom with the pollen of another cannot take place without the action of bees. It appears from this letter that the honey-bee is less efficient in this than some of the wild bees. But as the honey-bees are more numerous than the others, where they exist at all, it necessarily follows that the most flowers are fertilized through their agency. Cross fertiliza- tion ensures seed production in about twice as many instances as when the flower is fertilized by its own pollen. The reader will find in this number an article from the pen of our learned correspondent, Mr. John H. Lovell, with illustrations, showing a few of the numerous kinds of bees in existence on the American continent. Pollen- gathering bees are to be found even in the northern mountains, where the summer is less than three months du- ration. Nature evidently provides well for the needs of all its productions. But where flowers are grown arti- ficially in immense fields, as with our alfalfa-covered plains, an artificial pro- duction of pollen-gathering insects is necessary, and our honey-bee proves its usefulness. Bulletin No, 75, of the Department of Agriculture, entitled, " Alfalfa Seed 188 .H^^^^s^=^( June, 1914. American Hee Journal Production ; Pollination Studies," will be of interest to those of our readers who are scientifically inclined on this subject. Temperature of the Clu.ster in Winter Bulletin No. 93, of the Department of Agriculture upon the above subject, is a report of special studies made by our well-known and able friend, Dr. E. F. Phillips, in charge of bee-culture investigations, and his assistant, Mr. Geo. S. Demuth. The wintering prob- lem was their aim, both indoors and outdoors. A number of colonies were studied and kept under close control with thermometers within the cluster, and in different parts of the hive. Electrical thermometers were used, by means of which readings could be made without approaching tlie hives, thus avoiding disturbing the bees. The bulletin contains 1(5 pages, and may be had from the Department of Agriculture in the usual way. We will make a few quotations from it. It was formerly admitted, witliout proof, that the temperature of the clus- ter in the hive, was at all times about that of human blood. But it appears that it may be much lower. The bulle- tin says : "When a colony is without brood, if the bees do not fly and are not dis- turbed, and if the temperature does not go too high, the bees generate practi- cally no heat until the coolest point among the bees reaches a temperature of about 57 degrees F. At tempera- tures above 57 degrees a compact clus- ter is not formed, but the bees are widely distributed over the combs. At the lower critical temperature, which is for the present stated as 57 de- grees, the bees begin to form a com- pact cluster, and if the temperature of the air surrounding them continues to drop they begin to generateheat within the cluster. * * * At the tem- perature at which other insects become less active (begin hibernation) the honey-bee becomes more active and generates heat; in some cases until the temperature within the cluster is as high as that of the brood-nest in summer. * * * These conditions do not apply when the colony has brood. The rearing of brood in win- ter causes a marked increase in heat production." * * * It is therefore apparent that in low temperatures the bees feel the necessity of heat production. A diagram given of temperatures taken in cellar wintering shows that in a room kept at temperatures varying between 38 and 44 degrees, the tem- perature of the cluster varied between 64 and 88 degrees in one hive and be- tween 71 and 1)1 degrees in another. A number of interesting remarks were made, some of which confirm facts which practical beekeepers have noticed. For instance, when a hive is opened in cold weather, the bees are found to form a compact cluster. But those on the outside of the cluster are less active than those in the interior of the cluster. " When a comb from the center of the cluster was shaken, the active bees in the center of the circle dropped off readily, and those in the outer shell which were somewhat sluggish were removed with more difficulty. * * Evidently the bees in the shell, whether in the cells or between the combs, are less active than those in the interior of the cluster." Also it was noticed that " bees fan to heat the cluster in winter as well as to cool tlie hive in summer. Observations of this kind were repeated beyond num- ber, and this theory of the method of heat production is entirely supported by the repeated observation of a hum- ming noise from the cluster during the cold weather." Like human beings, they stir more or less to keep warm. This study is very interesting, but as Dr. Phillips states: "Too hasty con- clusions must not be drawn from the facts here presented." One point is not mentioned which we think is of importance, it is the comparative strength of colonies ex- perimented upon. We have often seen colonies so powerful that they were ready to emerge from the hive at the least disturbance in the coldest weather. Such colonies must generate greater heat than weaker ones, or must sustain it more evenly. We would suggest comparative studies (if not already made) of the largest and strongest colonies with medium and weak ones, both indoors and outdoors. As this is but the beginning of the scientific study of the winter problem, we may expect tangible and very use- ful results in the near future, if the Department of Agriculture continues the employment of capable and steady workers who will persist in accom- plishing tasks like this. The winter- ing problem is a constant menace to the beekeepers of the North. It needs to be thoroughly studied. (lood Advice for ^licJiigan Mr. F. E. Millen, State Apiarist and Inspector from Michigan, has a very good article in the April 25 number of the Michigan Farmer on "Spring Work in the Apiary." Unlike many aricles which appear from time to time in farm papers, this article does not try to emphasize how to keep a pocket- ful of dollars by big crops of honey. Mr. Millen gives some practical ad- vice applicable to such conditions as a beekeeper is apt to meet in spring just before the crop is on. One point made, and one which is often misunderstood by the smaller beekeeper especially, is that the clipping of queens' wings does not have anything to do with pi-f.'ciilio)! of S2farmiiiir; it simply keeps the swarms from absconding after they have is- sued, owing to the fact that the old queen is unable to follow. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Cyprian Queens. — Unfortunately we have misplaced our list of subscribers desiring to obtain Cyprian queens. Those interested should write to W. B. Davis, of Aurora, 111. He has some pure stock. •*■ Large Crop for Russia In the Rus- sian Beekeepers' Review, Mr. Kormi- Icev, of Powelen, reports t)88 pounds of honey from one colony in liU3, in an .\merican hive. also exhibited insects in their changes from eggs to larva; and thence to winged insects. They also showed the transferring of bees from the common skep to the movable-frame hive, swarm harvesting, queen laying, honey extrac- tion, etc. The picture show, which is so often used for sensational exhibits, may thus be put to excellent use for the educa- tion of the masses. Education by Cinematograph. — Edu- cating the people concerning bees by the moving picture show is one of the growing methods. At the French Ag- gricultural Exhibit in Paris, in Janu- ary, they showed agricultural scenes, such as plowing, harvesting, etc. ; they Oldest Living Member of the National Association On the first page of the May issue. Dr. Miller asks if there isn't some mistake in reckoning con- cerning wlio is the oldest member of the National Association. The h'ditor had given 81 years as my age, which is correct. Hut he should have stated that I was the oldest living member in attendance at the first National con- June, 1914. American Hee Jonrnajj vention of beekeepers ever held in America, which met in Indianapolis, Ind., during the winter of 1871. In case Dr. Miller was at that con- vention and is 83 years old, he will pass, but not otherwise. Mr. M. M. Baldridge, of St. Charles, 111., was at the convention, and I think is still liv- ing, but I do not think that he is as old as myself. G. BoHRER, M. D., Chase, Kan. Save Your Beeswax Refuse. — Bees- wa.x is high in price now, some pro- ducers have been ofifered in the neigh- borhood of 35 cents per pound for their accumulations. It behooves the bee- keeper to save every scrap that may be turned into beeswax. While on the rounds of our apiaries one hive was found in which the combs had. been completely demolished by the moths last fall, after they were thought to be safe. It seemed plausible that this sediment left by the moths ought to contain at least a small percentage of beeswax. The black looking dirt was gathered up and carried home to be run through a Hershiser wax press as a trial. From what had been 10 full combs, Dadant size, was extracted 14 ounces of beeswax. This, too, in view of the fact that the lot made so small a batch that not a little proportion of the wax must have been left in the burlap pack- ing when pressing. Do not let the moths destroy your combs by any means, but if they do de- stroy them, do not throw away the residue as unfit for any use. Save it together with bits of bur comb, and render it together with your other slumgum, or, if you prefer, send it to some of the supply men who make a business of rendering old combs and slumgum into wax. A good way to preserve old and crooked combs from moth until you have leisure time to render them is to keep them covered with water in a tub or barrel. Development ol Ap culture. — Russian apiculture progressed last year, the production of honey being above the average. The year was an unusual one in many respects ; the spring was early, warm weather setting in as early as March, and many beekeepers brought out the hives from their winter abodes. At the end of March the first honey appeared. However, the warm weather was not of long duration ; after the middle of April a wave of cold spread over Russia. In the southern regions this happened during the flowering period of the fruit and destroyed buds and blossoms. The cold weather lasted for some time, and May, which is us- ually the chief month of the bees' activity, proved unsatisfactory, the bees not resuming work until June. In well kept apiaries, where the bees were pro- vided with warm hives and sufficient food, they did not suffer much from this delay, but in the ordinary apiaries of the peasants a great number perished of hunger and cold; and those that survived were able to collect later in the season only the necessary winter supply of honey. A great improve- ment was noted in June in the central, eastern, and southern provinces of Eu- pean Russia, where white clover, buck- wheat, sunflowers, and many other plants furnished a large supply of food. In the western territories the weather continued cold and wet through June. In the wooded districts, where the pro- duction of honey depended upon the flowering of trees and shrubs, the out- come of the season was poor. For in- stance, the honey obtained from lime trees, which is preferred to other kinds by the consumers, and is produced in large quantities in the province of Nizhni-Novgorod, was very scarce last year. On the other hand, apiaries sit- uated in the open country and the step- pes showed a large yield. Good results were obtained from the following provinces of central Russia: Kostroma, Vladimir, Moscow. Ryazan, Tamboff, Penza, and part of Tula; and in the following northern and eastern provinces: Vyatka, Perm. Ufa, Nizhni- Novgorod, Simbirsk, and Kazan. Detailed statistical data have been obtained from the instructor appointed by the Department of Agriculture in the province of Kostroma. In this province there are 100,000 hives, and the yield of honey has been good, aver- aging 41 pounds per hive; the yield of wax averaged 0.7 pound per hive. In several rare instances as much as 433 pounds of honey were obtained from one hive. The average prices were 15 cents per pound of honey and 37 cents per pound of wax. The total revenue from apiculture in Kostroma for 1913 amounted to more than $500,000. A satisfactory yield was obtained in the provinces of Kovno, Grodno, Smo- lensk, St. Petersburg, and Pskov, and an average yield in Volhynia, Podolia, Samara, Saratof, and Tver; but in both regions the production was inferior to that of the previous year. These terri- tories show a great variety of prices, depending upon the facilities for mark- eting the product. Results were un- satisfactory in Poland, Vitebsk, Vilna, and Orel, where in manv apiaries the honey produced hardly sufficed for keeping the bees through the winter. Last year again demonstrated the lack of organization in the marketing of honey, and the dependence of the beekeeperson the wholesale purchasers who often make a profit of 200 to 300 percent. Serious drawbacks to apiculture were the prevalence of sickness among the bees brought on by the unfavorable weather and the beekeepers' ignorance of modern methods. Apiculture is de- veloping every year, and the need of instruction in scientific beekeeping is recognized by most of the producers. The Government has been asked to provide such instruction. president of the Central French Bee- keepers' Association. He was secre- tary of the International Congress of Beekeepers at the Paris Exposition of 1000. Mr. Alin Caillas, the chemist, is his son. Meeting of Iowa Beekeepers at Delmar. —The meeting at Delmar, July 7, will be held at the Coverdale farm. Mr. Cover- dale has become famous as a grower of sweet clover, and is considered au- thority on the subject. He has experi- mental plots showing what sweet clover will do when handled scientifically. Mr. Coverdale will deliver an address explaining what sweet clover will do for the farmer and stock raiser. Any one contemplating sowing sweet clover can well afford to make a trip across the State to hear Mr. Coverdale, and see his experimental plots as well as his large acreage. Mr. C. P. Dadant will probably at- tend and deliver an address. He has been asked to choose his own subject. Mr. Frank C. Pellett, Iowa's State bee-inspector, will also speak on foul- brood conditions in Iowa, foulbrood laws, etc. Mr. Pellett is a lecturer of note, and ispresident of ourState Asso- ciation and a live wire. He isn't very large, but you will know he is at the meeting nil right. Other subjects will be discussed informally, but the three addresses will be well worth your time. Don't forget the basket dinner. Let everybody come whether a bee- keeper or not. Let us all boost for the Delmar meeting. W. S. Pangburn. Cool, Cloudy Weather The follow- ing note from California is self-ex- planatory as to conditions there: Orange bloom passed with a very small amount stored compared to former years. Black sage is yitlding, but the riow is very slow. Cool, cloudy weather is the rule, and only occasion- ally a day when bees will not rob when extracting. Expect one-third to one- half of a crop. White sage is begin- ning to bloom. L. L. Andrews. .Corona, Calif., May 15. Necrology.— Died, at Paris, March 30, at the age of 74, Mr. E. P. Caillas, vice- Beekeeping in Germany At the end of 1012 there were counted 2,61!l,y91 bee-hives in Germany, over half of these being in Prussia. Silesia leads the Prussian provinces with 187,264, and all of the non-Prussian States, only Bavaria has more (over 400,000). The province of Posen counted 122,705. The Silesian Chamber of .'Agriculture is given a fund to promote bee-culture, which it uses according to plans pro- posed by the General Association of Silesian apiculturists. The association is composed of 103 societies with a total membership of 7300. The pro- vincial exhibition was held last year at Hirschberg. The chief instruction course was given in a Breslau suburb, and auxiliary courses at Trachenberg and Richtersdorf. Seventeen observa- tion stations were in operation during the year. The chamber also advises in legal matters, assists in marketing honey, and maintains a library of books on bee-culture. A trial honey market tflO June, 1914. American IS^e Journal was held in connection with the fruit market in Breslau from Nov. 12 to 14, and good sales resulted. Nearly all the societies used the privilege of tax-free sugar for winter feeding. While the highest honey production of a colony was 24.9 pounds, there was a consider- able variation in the colonies, the low- est result being 4.19 pounds. The aver- age was 12.1 pounds against 15.4 pounds the year before. The widespread attention given to apiculture makes this district a good market for beekeepers' supplies. A list of special dealers in various cities of Silesia and Posen is forwarded [and may be obtained from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce]. The list also contains the addresses of the six members of the Silesian Cham- ber of Agriculture that constitute the standing committee on apiculture, poultry breeding, etc., who would prob- ably be interested in catalogs of American firms. Unfortunately it is difficult to get business from circulating printed mat- ter in Knglish, and the consulate is un- able to predict results when this is re- lied upon. If manufacturers will in- form the consulate to what extent they are prepared to go after the trade and what methods they have hitherto used in foreign business, more detailed sug- gestions will be cheerfully furnished. — fiajly Cofisit/cir and Trade Report. Bee-I^epinc ^ For Women this, a Pennsylvania correspondent says he has looked it up in the book and does not comprehend it. He seems to tliink that he must go from page 1()7 to 1(38, 184, 18(i, and 189, and says : " Now I would be pleased to see this plan set forth in one body of state- ment from A to Z." Then he says he is against finding queens, and does not want to have clipped queens, and that when on page 1(17 the return of queens is mentioned that seems to presuppose clipped queens. All of which leaves one a bit dazed as to how to meet the case. Our Penn- sylvania friend plainly understands the plan to involve the finding of queens and the clipping of queens, but wants the plan to be given in detail. What good to give the plan if he rejects two of the important factors ? Sounds like saying, "I've decided I'll not follow the plan, but I want you to give it all very clearly in detail." Let ui, however, do what may be done to straighten matters out. In the first place, if Pennsylvania will Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo. 111. Encouraging the Use of Honey in Cooking I thank you for your prize of the American Bee Journal I received at the Northern Michigan State conven- tion. We had a nice time. I also re- ( eived a prize on my honey candy. In my display I had both comb and e.x- tracted honey, honey candy, honey cake, a mince pie sweetened with honey, and honey fried cakes. I think if the beekeepers' wives would go to the conventions and take some of the good things that can be made with honey with them, and then do as we did, cut them up and pass them to the visitors, we would have more call for honey. [Mrs.] Jos. Burkholder. Mancelona, Mich. Your idea of having beekeepers' wives display their honey and the toothsome things made with it at con- ventions is good. Such a display will stir up other beekeepers' wives and daughters, and then if they in turn can be induced to offer such displays 9t State and county fairs where the mass of the people can be reached, larger results may be obtained. communication between the two hives His trouble probably comes from not making the proper distinction between "hive" and " hive-body." and he has made the mistake of supposing that a hive-body is put up instead of a hive. When a hive is mentioned, its bottom- board is generally supposed to be with it, and if the bottom-board be taken away the hive-body is left. As here stated, each hive has its own bottom- board. The accompanying outline sketch shows a hive with its supers, and a " put-up " hive over all. Variation of " Put-Up " Plan On page 121, something was said in this department about what we did last year in the way of treating colonies that swarmed or were likely to swarm, saying that we followed the plans laid down in " Fifty Years Among the Bees," generally the put-up plan, which is given on page 167. Referring to Ventilating Comb-Honey Supers Referring to what is said on page 83, Harry Bell writes that what was said on page 30, was based on actual experi- ence and not on supposition. He says: "We know our colonies in double- walled hives and double walls around the comb-honey supers with the ■>»- inch entrance have given us the best results. It may be all right to venti- late in your locality, but it would not work here in the production of comb honey." * > » "Put-Up" Hives A correspondent who has read " Fifty Years Among the Bees," and has also read what is said about "put-up" hives on page 121 of this journal, is puzzled to know how bees get out of the upper, or "put-up," hive, seeing there is n" The " I'uT-ui'" Plan. Mrs. Burkholder. of Michic-.an. again turn to page 167, and read straight through to the end of the first para- graph on page 170, he will find the plan " set forth in one body of state- ment from A to Z." To be sure, the matter is referred to again further on, but does not militate against the fact that the whole plan is given all in one statement in the place mentioned. On page 167 the statement opens by saying: "When a swarm issues and returns." Pennsylvania is quite right in thinking that this presupposes that the queen is clipped, for swaimswith undipped queens do not usually re- turn. His queens are not clipped, so June, 1914. 1:>1 American Hee Journal that knocks out returning swarms. That, however, does not knock out en- tirely his using the plan, for he may anticipate the swarming by dealing with the colony before swarming ; that is, when he finds queen-cells well ad- vanced. Indeed, that may be better than to wait for actual swarming. But he does not want to search for queens. That's a more serious affair. Yet even then, something like the plan may be followed. Here is what may be done, giving details as fully as may be allowed: When it is found by the presence of sealed queen-cells or large grubs in queen-cells that the bees are bent on swarming, go to the hive con- taining the colony to be treated, which hive we will call A, and set btside it an empty hive which we will call B. Lift A off the stand, and set B in its place. One by one lift the frames out of A, brushing back into a A every bee from each comb except one, and then put the beeless combs into B. In this way it is made certain that the queen will be left in A. The one comb is left in .\ so that bees and queen will not desert. The vacant place left in B may be filled by adummy or by a brood- comb of any kind from elsewhere. Fill ■out A with frames of foundation or comb. If supers were on A, as most likely there were, they were of course set aside temporarily while making the changes of comb mentioned. Now set these supers on B, and over them place the cover. Set A on top of all, and cover it up. There is no communication between the two hives, each having its own bot- tom-board and its own entrance, as also its own cover. A large part of the bees are in A, but none of the field- bees will remain in it, for upon their return from their first journe) afield," they will steer straight for the lower enrance and enter B. Of course all cells upon the combs were killed at the time the bees were brushed from them. Ten days later all cells again started are killed, and the brood-comb with its adhering bees is taken from A and put in B, after which all bees re- maining in A are brushed upon the ground in front of B, and allowed to run in at the entrance. A is now taken away entirely, and any combs in it dis- posed of wherever desired. This plan with its variation is not by any means given as an improvement, but as fulfilling the desire to operate without being obliged to hunt for queens or to have them clipped. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. A Good Honey Crop for Dixie Up to this date (May bi the reports from all sections in Dixie show that we have already had an average honey crop. Mr. S. S. Alderman, a beekeeper down on the Apalachicola river, in the great tupelo gum belt, reported some time ago that the bloom was not as great this year as usual, and he feared the flow would be correspondingly light, but my apiarist in the tupelo gum region reports a good crop. South Florida has again had a great crop. The poplar and other spring honey plants up in the hills and moun- tains are now giving a great yield. The market is practically bare of honey, and at present new honey is bringing a good price, and shipments are moving rapidly. As we have no uniform prices for honey in Dixie, it is needless to state a figure, but let me suggest that every beekeeper add one or two cents to his former prices ; this will mean considerable in the wind up against the higher prices of bee- supplies. Wants to Move Bees to Make Increase Mr. Rish, a beekeeper down on the .\palachicola river, wants to know if he could move ."lO colonies of bees up the river 7.5 or 100 miles to the cotton fields, and increase them to 100 colo- nies during the cotton flow ? Yes, this could be very well done. The cotton is a good honey plant, also a great pollen plant, and the flow is long, and bees would naturally build up rapidly, and probably store enough surplus to carry them over winter. But I entertain a doubt whether it would be best to undertake this venture or make the increase right where they are. There is always some honey coming in on the river from snow vine and other similar vines, and this would make it ideal for increasing where they are located. Mr. J. K. Isbell and S. S. Alderman, of Wewahitchka, Fla., have for a num- ber of years moved their bees up the river to the cotton fields in order to build them up in numbers and stores for winter, and at the close of the cot- ton flow moved them back down the river for winter and spring, but their latest report shows that it does not pay them, and that they expect to discon- tinue this practice. If the flow should not be lieavy enough to make the de- sired increase, a cheap grade of honey could be obtained and a slow feed kept up with good results. It is a lot of trouble and expense to move bees, and this compared to feeding might prove more unfavorable than leaving them where they are for this job. Bacl( to the Blue Ridge Mountains On June 1, myself and family, consist- ing of wife, small daughter and an or- phan girl we have taken to rear, will leave for our summer cottage up in the Blue Ridge Movmtains, where we ex- pect to spend the summer months. My mother, who has had the privilege of visiting us but one time in 18 vears, on account of sickness in her family, will join us and spend the time there with us. We used to spend this time at the seashore, but find that it is more satis- factory in the mountains. This is not done so much on account of my broken down condition as for the betterment of my wife, who has been almost a helpless invalid for years. But I am usually almost to this point in health at the close of the spring work, after the heavy strain of mental and physical labor. It may be a surprise to those who have never visited me, to know that I take a cheap helper and work from two to five apiaries daily during the spring months. This work con- sists of looking over brood-nests, ven- tilating hives, adding storing room, making increase where it is wanted, and keeping it down where it is not wanted. I cannot make the trips by an automobile, but very often travel by rail. At this time all of our experi- enced helpers have all they can do, and are usually under as great physical strain as I am, but the responsibility of the entire field is on me. Besides this, from 10 to 30 letters go out every 24 hours to beekeepers in different parts of the country, who are not in any way connected with my own bee- business, but desire information. This all plays heavy on a small, frail man, and he must get out from under it as soon as he can. By June 1, the spring crop of honey is gathered, and removing, packing and shipping is under full way. This can all be done by the well-trained helpers I have without my constant oversight. The sales of the crop of honey made falls to me, and I am more centrally located up in the mountains to do this work. The summer and fall flows come on slowly, and are not so heavy, and no danger of swarming if the bees have plenty of ventilation and storing room, and our help can easily keep up this work. By the time this task comes on, the surplus spring honey has been removed and packed. At the close of the slow summer flow I am back, and take up the work of making the last increase, requeening and the last general apiary work. My correspondents will please take notice and address me after June 5 at Moun- tain City, Ga. The Cause of Swarming— Ventilation the Deciding Factor The Editor commenting (page 152) on Mr. Randolph's article under "Swarm- ing Xotes," page 104, strikes a " key note" when he says, " While there are no doubt cases in which other factors so strongly favor swarming that no amount of ventilation will prevent it, the likelihood is that when other fac- tors are almost but not quite strong enough to carry the day, lack of venti- lation is the deciding factor to cause swarming." Bees for several seasons under the care of a thoughtful and prudent api- arist with good equipment, will swarm but very little naturally during a honey flow if weather conditions remain good during this time, so that the field bees 192 American Vae Journal eep at work in the usual manner. If during this time we have adverse weather conditions, and the field-bees are confined more or less to their hives, tliey may naturally acquire the swarming fever, for they seem to have nothing else to do. Under the former conditions the question of ventilation would have had very little if any im- portance, but under the latter it is the deciding factor. Not many bees will be seen clustered about the bottom of a well ventilated hive during ideal weather, but when the reverse comes, even the large well opened entrances will be filled with bees, and the spaces between the bot- tom frames and up between the frames for some distance will be found clogged with bees. They have a job to main- tain the heat of the colony and stay about the bottom, and do not crowd the upper part of the hive. As soon as the weather clears these bees clus- tered about the bottom will return to the field, and there is no more added to this swarming impulse than usual. There is nothing I dislike more than to find a strong colony of bees with only a small entrance, and with a great fanning corps all about the entrance roaring as if about to smother. If they are not clustering about the entrance, you will find them in small clusters up through the hives, and those scat- tered about over the comb running as if panic stricken. This method is poor policy, poor beekeeping, and the cause of poor honey crops. We have tested it too many times. Bees cannot work prop- erly in a hive under such conditions, .neither can they evaporate very much nectar, especially if it contains a great amount of water, as it would naturally make thin honey, if not evaporated well. This makes the comb o[ cap- ping brown over as fast as the honey is finished, and it is hardly marketable. So we ventilate a reasonable amount by placing under each side of the hive, on bottom-boards, a square 'sinch strip cut as long as the hive, which gives a good vent from back to front, and allows a good current of air to pass under and up between the frames if the bees need it; if not, they will cluster there and shut it out. This is also the only sure cure for hanging out during a honey-llow. Caufornia ^ Bee-Keeping Conduclf d by J. E. Pleasants. Orange, Calif. Crop Notes On April 17, 18, and 19 there was a very hot dry wind, the temperature rising to 90 degrees one day. This, as is always the case when the ternpera- ture reaches that point early in the season, did much damage to the plants in bloom at that time. The black sage (our best honey plant), which was well in bloom, sulTered most. It looked for a time as though it were wilted, but in two or three days following the hot wave the weather changed, and the two weeks following were damp. During this time I.:?.') inches of rain fell. This gave new life to the plants, and bees are still working on black sage. The beauty of the sages is that they remain in bloom so long, especially the black variety. While the bees were checked some in their work bv the rain and cloudy weather, they have built up rapidly, and most apiaries are stronr in bees, and ready for the fine working weather which we have been having of late — fnggv mornings and warm sunny days. While few have extracted much yet, except from the orange flow which was light, the outlook now is more favorable. There is an excellent growth of white sage, though little of it is in bloom yet. It is too early to tell about sumac, but it has come out well from last year's freeze, and ought to give us some yield. There is a report from San Diego county of a lack of early nectar and pollen, causing the bees much 1"ss A shortage of pollen in southern California thing. IS a very unusual Some Native Honey Plants of Southern California As California ranks well as a honey- pr iducing State, and as the native flora shows a marked difi^erence from other sections, perhaps a short sketch of our wild honey plants may be of interest. As we go from the cultivated valleys of the south where irrigation is univer- sal to the foot-hills, we begin lo notice that the distant purple of the moun- tains is changing to a soft blend of gray and green We go higher and are in the midst of the great wild bee-pas- ture of southern California, the home of the sages, the sumac, and countless others which make what the botanists call the "chaparral belt." They form a dense covering over the mountain sides from the foothills up to about 6000 feet elevation, where this dense growth gi^es way to the pine forests. Along the canons are live oaks and sycamores, whose decided dark and light greens lend a pleasing contrast to the duller tints of the mountain sides. This is the bee-pasture which furnished our large crops of the '70's and '80's, before orange or bean nectar were commercial assets. The black sage is king of them all. When climatic conditions are favor- able I think black sage can be relied upon to produce more " gilt edge " than any other plant in the West, and for body and flavor it is hard to excel. It blooms for weeks. The blossom is small and inconspicuous, but what a flow of nectar it can yield ! The white sage is a much prettier plant. Its soft gray leives and tall blossom spikes make it quite showy; while its pleasing aromatic odor breathes the very essence of wild per- fumes. But this queenly plant is much more inconstant than its plainer sister. Some years it produces a good harvest, others very light. The silver or purple sage, which has silvery leaves and brilliant light purple blossoms, is usually a good producer, but is much restricted as to locality. All the sages produce delicately-flavor- ed white honey. The " wild alfalfa" is a small legume much resembling alfalfa in habit of growth, but has bright yellow blossoms. The California sumac is a dull green bush, not so attractive as its eastern relative. It is quite dependable, and produces an amber honey of good flavor. Last year the sumac was badly Ai'iARY OF H. E. .S(miN< uEi. IN California. June, 1914. 193 American Hee Jonrnal EH MM ^^Hi ^H ^ ^K P ■" "* sJP4^Qt '""^^^^S?^ 1. "^"••^s Hh <«i ^**^^^^^^^^i Another View of Mr. Schunchels Apiary. Notice the decoy hive in the tree to the right. frozen, but is coming out well this season. The " wild buckwheat " is a species of I'.rioi^onum. It grows in almost all localities, but in some, yields a much better grade of honey than in others. Near the coast its honey is apt to be dark and not of a good flavor, while back in the canons bordering on the desert it yields better, and is of good quality. The "coffee berry" is a beautiful dark green shrub with dark glossy foliage. Its fruit which changes color from red to black, resembles the ber- ries of the true coffee. It grows only in the cool damp canons, and gives a good flow of amber honey. The "California holly" (which is not a holly at all, being a member of the rose family), yields very freely for but a short time. The honey is white. This is one of our most beauti ul mountain shrubs. Its dark green leaves and heavy panicles of heavy white blos- soms make it showy in summer, while its brilliant crimson berries in mid- winter brighten the whole landscape. This furnishes the Christmas decora- tions for all California ; hence the term " holly " by which it is known. There is a gorgeous yellow pentste- mon, shrubby in growth, distributed freely along many canons. Its flowers resemble the snapdragon in shape, and are nectar yielding. The dark chamiso or " chaparral," as it is also called, whose clusters of bloom now whiten the mountain sides, is a great favorite with bees, but chiefly for pollen. This is the chief use also of the gray arte- misia, which lends much of the gray to the landscape. This plant furnishes abundant stores of winter pollen, but it has of late years spread to such an ex- tent as to crowd out many a worthier plant. The hoarhound was introduced here. It is a steady yiel 'er, but the honey from it is very dark, and the plant itself is such a pest that most people, even bee-men, regret its introduction. The wild lilac, a beautiful shrub whose sweet-scented, lilac-colored blos- soms furnish much pollen, is notice- able on account of its blue pollen. I had a hurry call from a beginner not long ago who thought he had disease among his bees. On inspection it was the blue pollen that had caused the alarm. The bees were rather weak owing to local conditions, but perfectly healthy. I have mentioned only the most im- portant of the native plants. There are many others which give us nectar in varying quantities. Conducted by J. L. Ever. Mt Joy. Ontario. Crop Prospects, Outlook, Etc. May 12, sugar maples and yellow wil- lows are in bloom. But with weather cool and a dri'.zling east rain falling, the prospect is not pleasant for the beekeeper who would like to see the bees carrying great loads of pollen from the maples, and an abundance of much needed nectar from the willows. I say "needed nectar," for although there may be lots of old stores in the hives, nothing seems to be quite as good to cause a great boom in brood- rearing as some nice fresh nectar in combination with the natural pollen gathered at this time of the year. To date of writing the weather lias been steadily cool with little precipitation; in fact, unless we soon get rain a short crop of hay is assured. But bees wintered well, and j 'dging from present appearances they are steadily building i p, even if the days they can fly and bring in nectar and pollen are few and far between. The little clover we had last fall is now past the danger point, and in our section at least it has wintered well. In another 10 days fruit bloom will be on, and if weather permits queen clipping and other work of the season will be in order. After the long time since active work with bees, we look forward with pleasure to being in the harness again. Only a few weeks at most until the harvest, great or small, will be a thing of the past, and the bee- keeper can again take it easy if he wishes. This is one of the drawbacks of beekeeping, looking at it from one angle, for if the great amount of work that is often crowded into a few weeks could be divided up into that many months, it would make things easier all around. But no doubt it is much better than we could possibly arrange it for ourselves. Newspaper Advertising of Honey Too Expensive Constantly we hear about the benefits of advertising honey so as to increase the consumption of this useful and toothsome delicacy and food. Any kind of advertising is to be commend- ed as long as it is truthful and not mis- representing, and while each individual beekeeper can do much in his own neighborhoodto increase the consump- tion of honey, the longer I study the question the more it seems to me that extensive newspaper advertising is im- possible. Why ? Because the cost of producing honey is too near the sell- ing price to allow much money to be paid for advertising. Take the various patent medicines, breakfast foods and drinks, different kinds of corn syrups, etc., the names so common to us all through seeing them in the papers that any child could give a list off hand. In almost, if not in all of these cases, the selling price is many times the cost of production, so it is easy to see why they can adver- tise so extensively. Then, again, each firm is advertising an article produced only by themselves, and they get the benefit of all the advertising done. In the case of honey, if my neighbor bee- keeper across the road advertises the good qualities of honey, the chances are that if the ad.ertisement does any good I will share equally, even when I am not paying a cent for advertising. Newspaper advertising costs a tre- mendous amount of money if done at all extensively. This means that other forms of publicity will have to be em- ployed if we ever expect to increase the consumption of honey by means of advertising. If I could truthfully ad- vertise that my honey was better than anybody's else, it might pay me to adver- tise ; but no matter how good a pro- duct we had, very few of us would make such a decided statement as that. I remember tasting a sample sent in June, 1914. American Bag >Joarnal| , _ 2 3, Carl Hanneman. 4. E. S. Hiidemann 5- 6. Joseph Kurth. ;. . 3. John Hearn. .;_ A. C. Allen. lo. N E France ii. Gus Dittmer. 12. Mrs. W. R. Harte. 13. Mrs. W. Habermann, ij. Mrs. C. M. Soelch. 15. Mrs. Frank kittins;er. 16. J. I. McGinty 17, . 18. Mr. .Sayles. 10. Freman lohnson. 20. August Diehnelt. 21, W. H. Habermann. 22. H. H. Moe 23 Harry LathroD. 24. H. M. Rood. 25. Herman Gloese. 26. Francis Jaeer. 27. L. V. France. 28 Prof. Sanders 20 Chas. Alberts jo. John Wambold 31. fc.. H Rosa. 32 Lawrence Post. 33. N. K. Walsh. 34. Geo. Acker. 35 John Willgrub. 36. Fred Blunck 37,. A A. I mn. .33. Wni. H. Wallace. 3g M M. Rice. 40. Mrs. M. M. Rice. 41. G. M. Ranum. 42. Jacob Paulson. 43. Ogden Glacdeii. 4). A. C. Woodbury. 45. E. Engels. 46. A. L Kleeber 47 48 - 4g. . 50. . 51. Louis Post. 52. . 53. H. C. Ahlers. 54. W. C. Smith. 55, Mr. Huffmann. 56. Frank Kitlinger. 57. Geo. G. Harte. 58. Mr. Sykes. 5Q. F. E. Matzke. 60. L. W. Parman. response to an advertisement stating that the honey had a taste of the woods, and was superior to all other honey, etc, When we found the sample infe- rior, you all know what we thought of the advertiser. This is an extreme case, no doubt; it simply shows one difficulty in advertising honey. Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. Shipping Bees from Soutliern New Mexico — Loss in Weight May 4, five 2-pound packages of bees were shipped to me by express from southern New Mexico. They were shipped without queens. Leaving there at HI a.m. of the 4th, they reached Boulder at 9 ::!r) a.m. of the 7th. At 11 :30 a.m. they were placed in empty supers over weak colonies of bees with which 1 wished to unite them. By 4 :30 p.m. of the 7th, the bees were out of all the shipping-cages in which they came. Counting from the time they were put into the cages to the 4th, the bees were in them about 70 hours. The weight given, gross, for the five packages at the shipping point was 23 pounds. The gross weight when I received them was lfl>^ pounds, showing a loss in weight of V/z ponnds. This was the amount of water and candy consumed and loss in bodily weight of the bees. There might be a slight variation in the scales, but mine are quite accurate, and I as- sume that those at the shipping point were accurate also. The weather was almost ideal for springtime when the bees arrived, so that conditions could hardly have been better. The packages were numbereil 1,2, :t, 4,5. Number 1 weighed 4 pounds and 8 ounces gross when put up, and 3 pounds and 12 ounces gross when re- ceived. The net weight of the live bees at time of packing was 2 pounds, and 1 pound and H) ounces on arrival. There were less than 25 dead bees in the pack- age. The bees ate about one-fourth of the candy provided, and the water can was about two-thirds full. Three- eighths of a pound must represent the loss in bodily weight, or probably more accurately must be the amount of honey the bees were loaded with be- fore they were put in the cages. Number 2 weighed 4 pounds and 12 ounces when put up, and 3 pounds and 12 ounces when received. The weight of the live bees was XYz pounds. There was about \ pound of dead bees in the package. One-half of the candy had been consumed, and also about one-half of the water. The loss in bodily weight of the live bees was about '4 pound. Number 3 weighed 4 pounds and 8 ounces when put up, and 3 pounds and 4 ounces when received. The light weight of this package is explained by the fact that the cover to the water can came off en roiili- and the water was lost. There was I's pounds of live bees and about 's pound of dead bees. The loss in bodily weight of the live bees was about 12 ounces, unless there was some loss in the weight of the dead bees, which would equal the loss in weight of the live ones. The great loss in weight is accounted for in this case by the lack of water. There was, however, only half as many dead bees in this package as in No. 2, which had plenty of water. But this cage, No. 3, was needing attention when it came, as the bees had their tongues out and were crying for water. Strange as it may seem the bees in this package were loath to leave it, and the last half of them finally had to be shaken out. They had consumed one-half of their honey. Number 4 weighed 4 pounds and 12 ounces when put up. and 'i% pounds when received. The weight of the live bees was 1 '4 pounds, and there were over '4 pound of dead bees in the cage. This cage had the most dead bees in it. They had eaten half their candy, and the water can was still full, the little hole in the cover being too small apparently, and also clogged with a speck of dirt. Number 5 weighed 4 pounds and 8 ounces when put up, and 4 pounds when received. There were less than 25 dead bees in the cage, and the weight of live bees was l,",s pounds. This cage came through in the best condition of any. The candy had only been one-third consumed and little of the water used. The hole in the water can also seemed to be clogged, but the bees must have gotten some of the water, as they did not seem to be suf- fering. The cages were tacked together with lath, and were spaced about 5 inches apart, so that there would be ample circulation between the clusters in the cages. The express was $1.(14 on the 23 pounds weight. If the bees could have been sent by parcels post the cost would have been 98 cents. June, 1914. American l^ee Journal It will be seen that 10 pounds of bees were shipped in these five packages, and that 7>^ pounds of live bees were taken out. There was a loss of less than one pound of bees dying t« roufe, the remaining loss being in bodily weight as mentioned above. It would seem that, for shipment this distance, 2.5 percent more bees would have to be put in to make the weight of full 3 pounds hold out. It is my intention to keep up the ex- periments in shipping bees without combs until we know what we can de- pend upon, then perhaps it will not pay us to winter our bees in the North. I shall receive another shipment of five packages in a day or two. and it is probably on the road now. The weather is warmer and the bees may not come through in such good shape. One of the Apiaries of Pierre Odier, Cei.igny. Switzerland. Convention ^ Proceedings The Wisconsin State Meeting The Wisconsin State Beekeepers' As- sociation met in convention in Madi- son Feb. 2. N. E. France was elected temporary president. The Assembly Room was well filled, over 80 beekeep- ers, including 8 lardies, being present. Rev. Francis Jaeger, of the University of Minnesota, addressed the conven- tion on " Present Needs of Wisconsin and Minnesota Beekeepers." His argu- ment was a comparison of old-time and present day methods, not only in bee- keeping but in dairy work. He urged beekeepers to organize along the same lines as the various agricultural socie- ties. M. E. Eggers spoke on, "Should a young man specialize on beekeeping ?" The report of A. C. Allen, delegate to the National, was substantially as pub- lished in the Beekeepers' Review. A committee on resolutions was ap- pointed, consisting of E. B. Rosa, H. H. Moe, and Herman Gloege. The convention adjourned until 1 :30 p.m. At 1 :30 p.m. the meeting was called to order, and Rev. Francis Jaeger ad- dressed the convention on " A separate department of beekeeping at the State Agricultural College." Brother Jaeger showed the necessity of its being not only separate, but independent, as in the Minnesota University. Here in Wisconsin it is a department of the Agricultural College. Under Prof. Sanders it is perfectly satisfactory to the Wisconsin State Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, but it might not be so under a possible successor. Prof. Sanders spoke on " The value of a single beekeeping course at the State Agricultural College." He is held in high esteem by the beekeepers, and always commands close attention. L. V. France exhibited charts, show- ing distribution of different honey- plants, number of colonies, etc., in the different counties of the State. Mr. France stated that answers to his in- quiries had not been as full as antici- pated; however, he was voted the thanks of the convention with the re- quest to continue the work. After the supper a large number went to the Agricultural College, where they were entertained by an address by F. Wilcox, general survey of beekeeping, State and National; also a stereopti- con entertainmenjt by N. E. France, inspector of Wisconsin apiaries. SECOND DAY — MORNING SESSION. A good share of the morning was taken up by " five minute talks " on "One important thing I have learned this year." The election of officers for ensuing year resulted as follows: President, N. E. France; vice-president, Frank Wilcox; secretary, Gus Dittmer; treas- urer, Harry Lathrop. It was decided by an almost unani- mous vote not to send a delegate to the National. The Committee on Resolutions re- ported the following : Whereas. The Supreme Ruler of the uni- verse, in His all-wise providence, has deem- ed fit to call from our association our be- loved president, Jacob Huffman; therefore, be it Rciok'al. That we, the Wisconsin State Beekeepers' Association in convention as- sembled Feb. 3. I9I-1. do hereby express our sorrow at the loss of our beloved President, that the beekeeping world has lost an able counselor who will be hard to replace; therefore, be it further Jicsolved. That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon our minutes; that a copy be sent to the family, and that the chair be draped in mournine during the time of this convention. H. H. MOE. E. B. Rosa, Herman L. Gloege. i'cinrniftfe. J03. Walther at Delemont and His ApiARy. 196 American "Bee Janrnal j June, 1914. The resolutions jwere adopted ^by a unanimous rising vote. Z~^ ., ~i A paper was read by Mr. Frank^F. France. ; .. -:^B>M On motion, N. E. France was recom- mended for the appointment of State Inspector of Apiaries by the Governor. Mr. Frank Wilcox was recommended for the appointment of judge of the Apiarian E.xhibit at the State Fair. Meeting then adjourned. GUS DiTTMER, Sec. Notes From ^ Ab r oad Bv C. P. Dadant. Zermatt, Neuchatel The trip to Zermatt, from the head of Lake Geneva, is up the valley of the Rhone, then up the Visp until we reach the center of a cluster of snow-covered mountains, of which Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn are the highest. But the latter is the more conspicuous, owing to its sharp peak. II The Rhone river which we first saw at Lyon, then at Geneva, at its exit from the lake, is the feeder of that lake, through which it flows from east to west. As we ascend eastward to- wards its source, we pass through the Canton of Valais. We again see vine- yards, on shelves one above another, meadows and small fields of grain and potatoes, looking like the patches of a quilt. Irrigation is practiced, for the climate is dry and the water from the peaks is plentiful. We see it run in every direction. It is diverted into the fields by side ditches, and a flat stone serves to turn it right or left as needed. To one accustomed to the majestic and quiet flow of the Mississippi, the waters of the Swiss mountains appear in a great hurry, for they tumble in their haste, in every direction, and we can go nowhere without hearing the mur- mur of the brooks. There are running fountains in every village. The houses seem odd, with their long eaves and brown walls. The roofs are often made of coarse fiat stones, laid like shingles. But how they managed to build some of these houses is a mys- tery, for they look like eagles' nests on .the mountain side. We reached Zermatt on Aug. 9. It was cold, and we could see snow in every direction. To enjoy climbing, one must /rain. We took no time to do this. An inclined cog road took us clear up to Gornergrat, where an immense hotel has been built. There we stayed over night in company with a dozen other tourists. The hotel was supposed to be heated, but they had only pine wood to fire with, and when we complained of our room being chilly, they excused themselves on the the bad quality of their fuel. It was at this hotel that, for the first time in our lives, we had to pay even for the water we drank. We went away the next day. disgusted with the accommoda- tions, but delighted with what we had seen at sunset and sunrise. From the top of the Gornergrat, we had been shown, through a telescope, the ridge line forming the Italian and French frontiers, guard houses, flags, caravans, of alpinists walking on the snow, things which, owing to the distance, did not make even a speck on the immaculate white of the snow, when sought with the naked eye. The setting or rising sun, shining on that immensity of white, shading it with pink and red, made an impression beyond descrip- tion. Instead of 12 tourists, there should have been 1200. The thou- sands who come stay there only a part of the day, owing to the defective ac- commodations of that huge caravan- sary, which they call " Hotel Gorner- grat." The crowds are found below at Zermatt. Returning to Zermatt, we stayed there only long enough to visit the immediate surroundings, especially the Gorner Gorge. This, however great and frightful, is a diminutive wonder when compared with the gorges of the Aare at Meiringen, which we saw later in the month. Back to cultivated lands and warmth, we landed at Brig on the 11th, where we proceeded to get rested and warmed up, in a very comfortable hotel. Brig is near the Swiss end of the Simplon tunnel. It rained and we stayed there two days, at the end of which we left for Interlaken, via the new railroad of the Lotschberg, a beautiful scenic line, just completed. Reached Spietz for dinner. It rained. Went on to Inter- laken. It rained that afternoon and all the next forenoon. We then re- solved to go back towards Lake Geneva, where we had left the fair weather and where we had a friend to visit — a relative of one of our neigh- bors in the United States— living in the city of Rolle. Passing through Bern, Fribourg and Lausanne, we reached Rolle in the evening. The rain caught up with us, but had spent its force and clear weather followed. In these trips we heard more Ger- man spoken than any other tongue. But it would not do to speak secrets aloud, when using either French, Eng- lish or Italian, for everybody seems to understand everybody else. Americans are so numerous that little attention is paid to them. However, an American family, in a touring-car with a colored chauffeur, attracted the curious at Brig. Evidently colored men are rare in Switzerland. While in Rolle, the friend we were visiting accompanied us to a litte town up the sunny hills that beam upon the lake, to visit a school teacher, who is a beekeeper and an apiary inspector. He had called him on the telephone and announced that a foreign bee- keeper wished to visit him. This api- arist had bee fever, the genuine dis- ease, for he awaited us eagerly and could talk on but little else. He had some (JO colonies, all hybrids. The hy- brids of Italian and Swiss bees are almost uniformly reared in French Switzerland, through the slow but steady importation of Italians across the Alps. I have given in tlie Decem- ber number my explanation of why the pure Italians are not liked in Switz- erland! It is useless to repeat it. Here I heard for the first time in Europe, of European foulbrood. He had had it, and ha 1 cured it in other apiaries as well as in his own. He had had combs containing honey from dis- eased colonies accidentally robbed by healthy colonies without bad results. So he readily understood that our method of cure by changing the queens would be likely to succeed. However, he practiced the starving method, re- moving all the combs. According to Dr. Carton, this ought to succeed in any case. He thought so himself. He had seen the May disease, and I gave him the address of Prof. White, Rough and Ready Bee-culture in Corsica. .Tune, 1914. American Bae Journal Bee-culture in Corsica— J. Ruffy im Foreground. of Washington, D. C, asking him to forward samples to him, whenever he found it. He was sure that it was caused by the famous "nosema." Yet Prof. White has failed to discover this parasite in a number of samples sent him. We walked up to his house, and sat down and I made note of his replies to my questions. He was intensely in- terested. In discussing foulbrood, I had occasion to ask him whether he had read what we wrote about it in the French edition of Langstroth Revised. Then it became apparent that he had misunderstood our name when we were introduced. He jumped up from his chair and insisted on shaking hands over again with both Mrs. D. and my- self. He was so enthused that he would hardly let us depart when the time came for us to take leave. It was very amusing and interesting. Distances are not great in Switzer- land, and one is soon transported from one part to another. • The rail- road accommodations are fine. The coaches have, like ours, a passage through a center aisle, but instead of being in only one or two compart- ments, each car has five or six sec- tions. .\bout two-thirds of them are smoking compartments, for smoking is very popular, whether pipe, cigar or cigaret. The women are accustomed to it. Once or twice we even saw some good-looking women smoking like the men. (Why should they not ?) The smoking compartments, marked " raucher, fumeurs, fumatori," in Ger- man, French and Italian, are always the most crowded. During the summer months the crowds are immense. When you reach a railroad station in any large tourist resort, you wonder how they can suc- ceed in accommodating the thousands who are there. But the train co.nes in, unloads, reloads, and goes again, with everybody aboard in comfort. In the afternoon of the 15th, we started for Boudry, near Neuchatel, the home of Mr. Gubler, from whence I wrote the letter inserted in the October Bee Journal. In three hours we were there. A young man with a spring wagon awaited us at the station and took us at once to the Orphans' Home managed by Mr. Gubler, located about a mile away, on the slope below the mountain, where pure air and open fields are enjoyed by some 50 boys be- tween 8 and 16 years of age. Mr. Gubler is not only the editor of the Bulletin D'Apiculture, which has taken the place of the Revue Interna- tionale, formerly published by Mr. Bertrand, he is also president of the Societc Romande D'Apiculture. The name "Romande" represents nothing connected with Rome, as might be un- derstood by the uninformed. It repre- sents simply that part of Switzerland in which the French or Romanic lan- guage is spoken, in contradistinction with the parts of the same country where German is used. It covers the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchatel' and a part of Valais, Fribourg and Bern. The association numbers about 2000 members, and is subdivided into some 20 dififerent Lr.inches, which hold local meetings and send delegates to the central association. The little magazine, which is their official organ, is furnished to members at 42 cents per annum, while outsiders have to pay {)2 cents. They have a mutual insurance against losses by foulbrood, and have also succeeded in getting from the several cantons regu- lations for the inspection of bees and the destruction of contagious diseases. Apiaries are small but numerous. At the meeting of the Neuchatel section, which we attended on the Sunday fol- lowing our arrival, about 80 members were present. We give a cut of this on our cover page. The meeting was hel I in the basement of a house right by the apiary of Mr. Belperrin at Areuse. But the photograph had to be taken upon the hillside, in the vine- yard, because the apiary is located un- der dwarf fruit trees in such a manner that a good picture of it could not be made. In the evening the beekeepers were congregated together at a ban- quet given in the neighboring village on the shore of the Lake of Neucliatel. As a trolley line joins Neuchatel with the vicinity, we were only 15 minutes from our lodgings. The lake is some 25 miles long, with pretty villas and villages all along. A few details as to our quarters in the Boudry Home and the hospitable reception we enjoyed, will give a local coloring to our description. The guest chamber in the Home is a special room in the second story of the big barn. However queer this may appear to American readers, this chamber is kept in as fine a style as some of the best hotel rooms, with white walls, fine furniture, framed paintings on the walls, etc. Flowers fresh from the garden were daily brought in a vase, and every night we found an immense hot-water bottle in our bed. We pro- tested against this, but it was of no avail, and we had to submit. The eve- ings were cool, and our hosts were unwilling to chance our catching cold. The private office of the manager, in the main building, was our writing room, and upon his desk we found a framed picture of Grandpa Dadant. It was there also that I first saw the mag- nificent work of Gaston Bonnier on the flora of France, Switzerland and Belgium. While at Boudry, we had numerous invitations from local beekeepers. W ; accepted only a few, for our time was limited. Contributed Articles^ Sense of Smell of the Honey Bee BY N. E. MC INDOO, PH. D., BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY, WASHINGTON, D. C. [Extract from Journal Exp. /AtoL, Vol. l6. No. (, April lot J] EVER since man has kept the honey bee, he has asked the following questions in regard to its sense of smell: (1) How well can the honey bee smell ? (2) Where are its olfactory organs located .'' (3) How important is this sense in the lives of bees ? Both scientists and beekeepers are now gen- erally agreed that the honey bee has an acute sense of smell, and that its olfactory organs are located in the antennae, but the critics have never been convinced that the antenna; carry the organs of smell, because all the antennal organs are covered with a hard membrane through which odors must pass in order to stimulate these organs. During the past three years the writer has devoted his entire time to a study of the olfactory sense in the honey- bee June, 1S14. American IBee Journal S^pocfft/m{ Fin -Ventral view of a worker-bee, showint; location of groups of alfactory organs as indicated by the numbers. Fig. 2 -Dorsal view of a worker-bee. showing location of groups of olfactory organs as indicated by th e numbers. and this work is still being continued. This extract is taken from an 80-page paper which deals with the first two enumerated questions. Of the 2-4 fig- ures given in this paper only 5 will be reproduced here. Duges, in 1838, was the first actually to try to prove that the olfactory or- gans lie in the antenna:. He cut off the antenna: of two male moths and then these insects were unable to find a female that they had previously been able to locate while their antenna: were uninjured. He also cut off the an- tennie of many blow-fiies, and then these flies were unable to find putrid meat as before. Dugos, like the later observers, failed to study sufficiently the behavior of his mutilated insects so that it could be compared with the behavior of unmutilated ones. The in- sects with amputated antennx- used by him certainly did not live long, and it is not reasonable to suppose that an animal, however low or high it may be, would go courting or hunt food when it has lost two appendages as impor- tant as the antenna-. Since 18:i8, many observers have tried to prove experimentally that the organs of smell in all insects are located in the antenna'. Not until 1880 were scientists convinced that the olfactory organs really lie in these ap- pendages. At this date appeared Hau- ser's large and comprehensive paper which seemingly settled all doubts on this subject. When we critically ex- amine this paper, however, it is easily seen that his results are not infallible. Hauser studied the behavior of various insects before and after the removal of the antennae. When these appendages were cut off many individuals soon became sick and died, although some of them lived thereafter for many days. In insects with the antenn;c dipped into melted paraffin, the behavior was similar to that of those with the an- tenna- amputated. After performing many experiments with a certain genus of beetles, he con- cluded that these insects lose the olfac- tory sense by the removal of the an- tenn;e. Experiments with several other genera of insects gave the same results, but other beetles belonging to three genera gave less satisfactory results. These never completely failed to re- spond to strong-smelling substances. Experiments with Hemiptera (bugs) gave a still less favorable result. After the loss of the antenna: these insects reacted to odors almost as well as they did before their antenn.-e were ampu- tated. The following results were obtained by the writer. To study the behavior of bees and to test them with odors under conditions which permitted of their close observation, triangular cases were used. These were made of three narrow wooden strips, two of which were 10 and the third 0 inches long, each strip being half an inch thick. Cheesecloth served as a bottom and glass as a top for each case. Nine mid- dle-aged workers, a queen, now and then one or more drones, a lump of candy, a small piece of comb, and a piece of cotton wet with water were put into each case. Thus confined, workers live on an average of 0 days and 3 hours, queens l(l>i days, and drones 3 days and l> hours. The fol- lowing sources of odors were used : Essential oils of peppermint, thyme June, 1014. American Hee Jiournal £<•/' Bri) 20 Fig, 3.— Side view of sting of a worker-bee with its accessory parts, showing location groups of olfactory organs as indicated by the numbers. and wiiitergreen, honey and comb, pol- len, flowers of honeysuckle, leaves and stems of pennyroyal, spearmint and sage, and bee stings. After testing many workers, queens and drones, witli these odors it was found that they have an acute sense of smell. Drones smell slightly better than workers, and workers smell considerably better than . queens. To study the behavior of workers with mutilated antennas, and to see if the antenn;e carry the olfactory or- gans, the following experiments were performed : One antenna of each of many workers was pulled off. Thus mutilated bees are not entirely normal in behavior. They live only two-thirds as long as unmutilated ones, and seem to smell one-half as well as normal workers. Workers with one antenna pulled oft' and with two to eight joints of the other one cut off are still more abnormal in behavior and respond less slowly to odors. Workers with both antenn:e pulled off, cut off, covered with shellac or celloidin are entirely abnormal in behavior and live less than Por3 PorW ,PorB/^r ~yC/}M Por/Jp !'FiG. 4 —Group 6 of olfactory organs from hind leg of a worker-bee, showing the external appearance, highly magnified. one day. They fail to respond to all odors. The antenn;c of 95 workers were burnt off with a red-hot needle. These workers were also abnormal and lived only 17 hours on an average. Seven of them which lived longest were tested with odors. They respond- ed one-half as rapidly as normal work- ers. The antenn;c of many workers were covered with liquid glue. Twenty- one were obtained which were fairly normal in behavior, but they lived only 24 hours on an average. They re- sponded to odors practically as well as unmutilated workers. From the preceding experiments it is evident that bees with mutilated an- tenn;L' are not normal, and that their slowness in responding to odors or their entire failure to react when tested is due to the injury caused by the muti- lation. It seems, therefore, that the antenn;c have nothing to do with the sense of smell. Since bees have an acute sense of smell, and as the an- tennae do not carry the olfactory or- gans, we must look for them elsewhere. A few years ago the writer described some organs found on the appendages of spiders. It was proved experimen- tally that these are olfactory organs. After failing to prove that the antenn.-e of bees carry the olfactorv organs it was only natural to examine these in- sects to see if they have organs similar to the olfactory organs of spiders. At once the same organs were found Looking at Figs. 1, 2 and .3 it is easily seen where the olfactory organs are located. Groups 1 to 6 lie on the bases of the wings as indicated by the numbers. Groups li to 18 lie on the legs. Groups 19 to 21 lie on the sting (Fig. 3). The same organs are found on all mouthparts, but they are not discussed in this paper. The antenna; of the bee do not carry any of these organs. Drones have an average number of 2(304 olfactory organs, 606 which lie on all six legs and 1998 on all four wings. Work- ers have an average total number of 2:i(i8 olfactory organs, 100 of which lie on the sting, (j,58 on all six legs, and 1510 on all four wings. Queens have an average total number of 1860 olfac- tory organs, 100 of which lie on the sting, 450 on all six legs, and 1310 on all four wings. Those on the legs are rather large, but those on the wings and stings are quite small. Under the microscope these organs appear as bright spots. At the first glance they resemble hair sockets (Fig. 4, For ApHr) from which the hairs have been pulled, but after a closer examina- tion a striking difference is usually seen. Each bright spot is surrounded by a dark line, the pore wall (Figs. -f and .5, PorW). Outside this line the chitin or "skin" (Fig. 4, PorB) may be light or dark in color, but inside the line the chitin (Figs. 4 and 5, ChL) is almost transparent, and at the center there is an opening, the pore aperture (Figs. 4 and 5, Por.'^p). In order to study the internal anat- omy of these organs, pieces of the ap- pendages bearing the groups were "pickled " in a special fluid, and these pieces were cut crosswise into many extremely thin slices called sections. These sections were mounted on strips of glass, called microscopical slides, ^American ^ee Joarnal June, 1914. and they were then stained with dyes. Looking at one of these stained sec- tions under the microscope, one or more of the olfactory organs split open is always observed. From Fig. 5 it is seen that one of these organs is an in- verted flask in the chitin (Ch). It has a wide neck (NkFl)and a flaring mouth (MFl), and its bottom is two-thirds filled with a hollow chitinous cone (Con). A sense cell (SC) lies just be- neath the flask. Its outer end (SF) runs all the way to the opening (PorAp) in the chitin, and its inner end (NF) runs to the main nerve in the appen- dage. It is thus seen that the sub- stance (Cyt) in the sense cell comes in direct contact with the air containing the odor, and odors do not have to pass through a hard membrane in or- der to stimulate the sense cells in the antenna;. To determine the function of these organs the wings, legs and stings of many workers were mutilated. The behavior of the mutilated bees was carefully studied, and they were tested with odors in the same manner as already described. The stings of 100 workers were pulled out. These bees lived 30 hours on an average. Twenty of them were tested with odors. They SCf\/dc/ Fig 5.— Cross section of a typical olfactory organ from group lo.showingthe internal anatomy, highly magnified. responded only slightly, more slowly than unmutilated bees. The wings of 28 workers were pulled ofT. When tested with odors, these bees responded one-eighth as rapidly as normal bees. The bases of the wings of 20 workers were covered with glue. When tested, these bees responded also one-eighth as rapidly as normal bees. The organs on the legs of 20 workers were covered with a mi.xture of beeswax and vase- line. When tested, these bees re- sponded two-fifths as rapidly as un- mutilated workers. The wings were pulled off and the organs on the legs of 20 workers were covered with the beeswax-vaseline mixture. When tested with odors these workers responded one-tweUth as rapidly as unmutilated workers. All of the workers with mu- tilated wings and legs lived just as long in the observation cases as did unmu- tilated workers, and they were abso- lutely normal in all respects except they reacted to odors more slowly. Judging from the anatomy of these organs, and from the preceding ex- periments it is only reasonable to re- gard these structures as the olfactory organs in the honey-bee. The writer has also made a special study of these organs in ants, wasps and hornets, and the conclusions obtained from this study confirm the above view. These organs are common to all insects, while the antennal organs differ much in structure, and no one kind of them is common to all insects. The view that the antenna; carry the olfactory organs held so long by bee- keepers and scientists must, therefore, be abandoned judging from these in- vestigations. Washington, D. C. The Marking of the Queens BY DR. BKUNNICH. ABOUT 10 years ago I marked my queens with a mixture of glue of isinglass and color, but I was not contented with the results. The odor of this glue was very disagreeable, and the bees certainly detested it as well as I. It required several minutes for the glue to dry, and it was not possible to give a nice mark to a queen. Hold- ing the marking of queens a very val- uable thing, I was therefore glad, when, in a convention of the Swiss bee-breed- ers, a friend of mine gave us a better method, which I will describe at once. In a cup of porcelain I grind some color pocuder (a teaspoonful), adding by little and little some good lacquer until the consistency is half liquid. It is a matter of experience to get the best consistency; at all events the lac- quer must not be too thick, because then the marking is impossible and does not remain. To give the mark of color to a queen, I always hold her by the wings in my left hand and let her take hold on a table. With a little instrument, which consists of a thread-like wire which is bent one-sixteenth inch at the point at an angle of about 45 degrees, I make my marks on the thorax. With this little instrument I am able to make a great number of very different marks. Sometimes I give one Point, ivto, three, or four points, a longitudinal ba?-, a transversal one or oblique one, or I combine those bars with one or two points; sometimes I make a cross in two different positions; sometimes a H or a U, etc. With the colors / I'ary every year ; u'hile (not very good), red and r<'7/o?£' (excellent colors), .^^cfn. I never tried blue, silver, or golden bronze. Every four years the same colors come again. If the marks are well made, they may remain clearly for four years. The advantages of the markings are various and considerable. How easily a queen with a bright mark may be recognized from a great distance, and how agreeable it is to seek such a queen ! It is a very valuable thing, if a queen has to be superseded by a young one; only if a queen is well marked may I be absolutely surethatthe super- seding has succeded. I know from a large experience that many a beekeeper believes the super- seding a success, while it was another young queen bred from the bees of the hive which deceived the beekeeper. Even clipping is not sure, because it may happen that the wings are injured in a manner that it may seem as if the wing had been clipped. I am very mistrustful when the excellent results of any new method of superseding are praised by the beekeepers. I think I have tried all methods (always with colored queens), and have seen that every method gives a failure under cer- tain circumstances, even if performed with all precautions. Often the hive will not be looked after in three or four weeks, and of course a young queen will have brood in all stages, and the happy bee-man is proud of his success. The marking of queens, bees and drones has given me a great manyvery interesting experiences. Often I saw, at my mating stations, that a queen was not in her own nucleus, but in a strange one; she had flown into the false hole and had been kindly ac- cepted. Once I had an excess of queen- cells in a dequeened colony in my bee- house. When I came to take the cells they had disappeared; but instead of them I saw a young fertile queen. Noticing the colored mark on her back, I immediately recognized a queen which had been before in a not very distant nucleus, where now she was no longer to be found. Similar examples I have often seen. It is a nice thing, which I have often observed, to see in a hive an old queen with her mark, and not far from her her daughter with a different colored mark. For knowing exactly the age of a queen there is no other means than a good marking. I have sometimes read of queens 6 years old. I, for my part, am distrustful of such statements, having never seen a queen older than 4 years. Sometimes nice things may be ob- served by marking young bees. We may then exactly know their age, when they fetch pollen, honey or water. Once I saw a bee which fetched wax from a little lump lying aside; quickly I marked it with yellow color, and could then observe for some days the same bee fetch from that wa.x. My son and I have marked quite differently a number of water-carrying bees and then noted the time of their sucking and the time they needed to bring the water home, etc. For the exploration of certain scientific questions the marking of the bee is quite an indis- pensable matter. Zug, Switzerland. European Foulbrood at Dr. Miller's BY DR. C. C MILLER. IN the season of I!)i:!, I had 24 cases of European foulbrood in my apiary. Almost all of them were very light; I think none would be called very bad ; but if a single diseased cell was found in a colony, that colony was called a "case." As there were 83 colonies, spring count, that made 29 percent of them affected. The first case was spotted April 22; 15 cases were found at diflferent times in May; and the balance in June, the last being June 18. Whenever a case was found, it was marked in red ink in the regular record-book, and any en- June, 1914. 201 American l^ee Jonrnal Fig. -Two common bumblebees. 2. Bombus impatiens; Bombus americanorum; <;. female, ^, worker, female, i. male. (See next page.) try made at any time referring in any way to the disease was marked with red. That made it easy to tell at a glance whether any colony was affected, and what pertained to the disease with- out having to read over the whole record. HOW EUROPEAN FOULBROOD WAS TREATED. June 2 and June 10 were the dates on which nearly all the cases were treated. The treatment was simple. As the cases were mild and the queens good, there was no need to destroy or re- move any of the queens. (In very bad cases it is better to destroy the queen. Not that the queen herself has the dis- ease, but she has become poor, perhaps because oE having lived in such a bad atmosphere. In mild cases she is not affected.) In all but a few cases the queen was caged in the hive for 8 or 10 days, and then fed. That's all there was of the treatment ; just stopping the queen from laying for 8 or 10 days. Possibly a week would be long enough, but I wanted to be on the safe side. In the remaining cases the queen was allowed to remain without being caged. In four cases, in the middle of the day or alittle earlier, all the brood and adhering bees were quietly re- moved (and put elsewhere in an upper story over an excluder), clean brood from elsewhere was given to the queen, allowing the returning field-bees to care for the brood. That was all the treatment they received. The nurse- bees had been quietly removed so tliey would not be made to fly and return to the hive, the field-bees had no foul food for the babies, and could get none from the clean brood, so there was nothing to continue the disease. This plan allowed the queen to con- tinue laying, but taking away all the younger bees stood over against that, and caging the queen is less trouble. In two cases the treatment was simp- ler than the last given. All the brood, with adhering bees, was put in an up- per story over an excluder, and the queen was left downstairs to start a new brood-nest. If this plan should prove generally successful, as it did in these two cases (one of them was, I think, the worst case in the apiary), it may be the best plan to use with ex- tracting colonies. It has the advan- tage that it is nothing more nor less than the Demaree plan to prevent swarming. For section work the cag- ing plan is all right for mild cases. For severe cases the queen should be killed and replaced after 8 or 10 days by a vigorous laying queen of best Italian stock. Still better it may be to intro- duce a ripe cell or just hatched virgin at the time of removing the old queen. One thing that has not been men- tioned should be strongly emphasized: In all cases treated the colony luas strong or else made strong before treat- ment by the addition of brood and bees. FOLLY OF DESTROYING CO.MBS. I know there are those for whom I have great respect who have bitterly denounced the practice of trying to save the combs in treating luiropean foulbrood. In my first dealing with the disease I destroyed hundreds of brood-combs. If I am forgiven for it I'll never do it again. Please be sure to note that I'm talking about Euro- pean, not American foulbrood. The loss of the combs is not all there is of it. Indeed, I think that's the smaller part. The greater loss is from the set- back in the work of brood-rearing. It seems to knock things endways for weeks if not for the season. Far less is the interference when egg laying is suspended for 8 or 10 days. I think I hear some one say, " But your treatment doesn't seem effective, for you keep on having the disease, while with the orthodox treatment and the combs destroyed there's an end of it." Pardon me; that may be true with re- gard to American, but not as to Euro- pean. I treated the disease after the most approved orthodox fashion, de- stroying, as I have said, hundreds of combs, and so far as I could see the disease was just as willing to return as with the less drastic treatment. I think I'd rather keep brood and combs. EFFECT OF EUROPEAN FOULBROOD ON THE HONEY CROP. Some curiosity has been expressed to know what effect the disease had upon the 1913 honey crop. Is not the fact that the apiary holds the world's record for the largest average of sec- tions (2(J*i.47 per colony) from so large a number as 72 colonies enough to show that European foulbrood did not greatly interfere with the crop? But it may be more satisfactory to go into particulars. Part of the diseased colonies worked on extracting combs, and no account was kept of their work; we can con- sider only the 17 that worked on sec- tions. These 17 averaged 2.32.2',t sec- tions each. And now I'm just a little at a loss to know how to figure. There were 72 colonies, spring count, that worked on sections, but another col- ony was made out of these 72, making 73. I don't know whether to take 17 out of the 72, leaving .5.5, or out of 73, leaving 56, or take some other number as the number of entirely healthy colo- nies to which credit should be given for the rest of the sections. If we take .')5, then the average for the healthy colonies was 277. If we take .56, then the average was 272.1. Even this smaller number is 30.81 more than the average of the diseased colonies. If this difference be wholly due to the disease, then the average of the 72 would have been at least 272.1 instead of 2(i().-17. and a loss of t;7() out of the total crop should be charged up against European foulbrood. That may or may not be right, but it certainly looks as if something should be charged up against the disease, even thougit it was mild. And it is a consoling thought to know that the disease can be so kept down. /. - I \ / T ^ A /. Dr. Bkunnich's Queen Marking Tool ano Marks. SiMtt^aAa^ American Hee Journal Fig. ;.— Three carpenter bees i. Xylocopa caffra. Cape Colony. Nicaragua. 3. X. conjuncta. Africa. 2. X. fimbriata Three of the diseased colonies gave respectively 305, 326, and 33(i sections. The poorest gave 112 sections. The poorest of the healthy colonies gave (J8 sections, showing that there are worse things tlian foulbrood. In this case I think it was " pure cussed- ness." Number 39 began by killing its own queen the last of May, and killed everything in the line of a queen given to it up to Sept. 1, when it accepted a virgin. I used the politest and best forms of introduction I knew, includ- ing Arthur C. Miller's smoke plan, but all was no use. Marengo, 111. throughout the world, of which 2000 belong to Europe, and an equal num- ber to North America. There are about 200 species in England, 400 in Germany, while in the warmer climate of Algeria there are 413. In southern Maine there are not far from 135 species, while Hamilton, 111., the home of the Ameri- can Bee Journal, could probably fur- nish 250 species. The wild bees of the southern States are almost wholly un- known, and the information available in regard to the bee fauna of many northern States is exceedingly scanty. The wild bees are now classified into families, in the same manner as plants, but for the purpose of this journal we shall follow an older divis- ion of them into two great series called the long-tongued bees and the short-tongued bees. The latter is the older group, and as flowers with the nectar deeply concealed were gradually developed, the long-tongued bees were evolved /((;•/ A'.';'-" (with equal pace). Of our native long-tongued bees no genus is more familiar to every one than the bumblebees. They are some- times called humblebees, but their cheerful boom well deserves the sono- rous term Bombus or bumblebee. The common American bumblebee (Bom- bus americanorum, Fig. 1) has a ton- gue 14 millimeters long, or more than twice as long as that of the honey-bee (6 mm.). The following lines by Em- erson well describe the economy of species : " Hot midsummer's petted crone. Sweet to me thy drowsy tone Tells of countless summer hours. Long days and solid banks of flowers. Wiser far than human seer, Yellow-breeched philosopher! When the fierce northwestern blast Cools sea and land so far and fast. Thou already slumberest deep; Woe and want thou canst outsleep." There are many flowers which are adapted to pollination by bumblebees, and are hence called bumblebee flow- ers. This is true ot no other genus of bees. Common bumblebee flowers in gardens are the columbines, larkspurs, monkshoods and snapdragons; while the turtlehead, butter and eggs, gentian and red clover flourish in the mead- ows. I once placed several flower- clusteis of white turtlehead about 4 feet in front of a bee-hive; the honey- bees ignored the flowers entirely, but presently the bumblebees found them and one of them visited every flower. Bumblebees are social insects during the warmer half of the year, but only the impregnated queens survive the winter and are on the wing in the spring. All of the other wild bees in- digenous to the northern States are solitary insects; each female, as a rule, constructing her own nest and stock- Our Wild Bees BY JOHN H. LOVELL. FEW beekeepers know much about our wild bees, yet they play a most important part in the pollination of both wild and cultivated plants, the pollen and nectar of which our domes- tic bees are compelled to share with them. Our younger beekeepers, both boys and girls, would find it well worth their while to collect and study the wild species of their neighborhood. By exchanging and corresponding with each other this work might be made intensely interesting; and much prac- tical information would be obtained. When Darwin was at Good Success Bay, Terra del Fuego, he wrote home that he thought he could not employ his life better than by adding a little to Natural Science. But it is not neces- sary to go to the antipodes for this purpose; you can find an ample field for investigation near your own home, for the wild bees of this country are fairly well known in only a very few localities. Some 8000 species have been described Fio. 3.— Leaf-cutting bees. i. Megachile latimanus; <;. female; /'. male. New Kneland. 2. M. vidua, female. New lintland. 3. M. atriceps. female. Cuba. June, 1914. 203 American Hee Journal KiG. 4.— Common bees of the northern States, i. Halictus craterus; ./.female: A. male. 2. H. lerouxii: ,7. female- /• male. 1. Coelioxys rufitarsis. female. 4. Osmia megacephala. female. 5. Halictus hortensis. female. 6 H. vierecki. female. 7. Osmia Dumila. female. 8. Andrena vicina; ,r. female; /•, male. 9. A. cratsgi; ,/. female; 1*. female. 10. Prosopis modesta; a. female; /'. male. ing it with food. The largest of all bees are the carpenter bees (Fig. 3), so- called because they are able with their powerful jaws to excavate tunnels in solid wood a foot in length. The cells are separated by partitions of small chips cemented together in a spiral ; while the masses of bee-bread, or balls of pollen mixed with nectar on which the eggs are laid are about the size of a bean. In the eastern States Xylocopa virginica, a black bee about the size of X. caflfra (Fig. 3, 1), is a well known species. In Fig. 3 are shown three kinds of leaf-cutting bees. They carry pollen chiefly on a stiff brush of hairs on the underside of the abdomen, which in different species is black, yellow, or glistening white. On level-topped flow- ers, like the sunflower, they are able to suck nectar and brush up pollen at the same time. They are also especially well adapted to pollinate the flowers of the pea or legume family (Leguminos.c). The species of Megachile are called leaf-cutting bees because they line their burrows with oblong or round pieces of leaves or flower petals, which they cut out with their mandibles. Usually they do little harm to the foli- age of plants, but occasionally the in- jury is more serious. A settler at Springfield, Idaho, relates the follow- ing experience : " Among the first trees set out about our house were two ash trees. As soon as the foliage began to appear the trees were attacked by leaf-cutter bees, which completely defoliated one and nearly the other. First, we noticed circular holes in many of the leaves, but it was not long, until going to the trees, one noticed the noise made by the bees at work, almost like a swarm of bees intent on gathering honey. Sometimes we could see a bee with a section of leaf so large it could hardly fly, but working diligently, carrying its burden to a sandy spot just outside the yard, where the bees had their tunnels." The mason bees belong to the genus Osmia (See Fig. 4, 4 and 7), and are closely allied to the leaf-cutters. They Fig. 5.— Two closed bumblebee flowers W. Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus). B Butter and eggs Linaria vulgaris: In both species the corolla is twolinped Notice how the closed corolla protects both the nectar and the pollen from wet and useless in- sects. Bumblebees alone can push down the lower lip and enter the corolla. are robust, blue-green or bottle-green insects, with the pollen brush on the underside of the abdomen. They are called mason bees because many of them construct their cells of mud or clay. A cell sent to me from Massa- chusetts, was a round ball about half an inch in diameter, rudely fashioned of mud on the outside, but beautifully polished and glazed within. The short-tongued bees are very numerous, and may be taken by the dozen on flowers which have the nectar and pollen unprotected, as the willows, plums, wild cherries, thornbushes, blackberries and sumacs. In Fig. 4 are shown common species of the great genera Andrena and Halictus. As they build their nests in the soil of fields and pastures they are often called ground bees. Each female digs her own burrow, and, as many thousand sometimes tunnel in the same sandy bank, the ground appears as though filled with shot holes. It is a village or " city of homes." The tunnel is straight with several short branches, in each of which a ball of bee-bread about the size of a small pea is placed, ar: egg is laid upon it, the cell is sealed and the offspring are then left to take care of themselves. When it is rainy the fe- males remain at home, and may be seen looking out of the burrows watch- ing for fair weather. A part of the species of Andiena fly only in the spring, and others only in late summer or autumn. Many of them are found on only one kind of flower, some very common species like the willows or goldenrods, which furnish all the pol- len and nectar they require. The simplest and most primitive bees belong to the genus Prosopis (Fig. 4; 10, a and />). 'ihey are little coal-black insects with an aromatic odor, resemb- ling ants in general appearance. They are nearly smooth, with broad, flat, wasp-like tongues, which suggests that June, 1914. American Sae Journal they have been derived from the wasps. It is a far cry indeed from Prosopis to the honey-bee. The wild bees play a very important part in the pollination of many plants both in nature and under cultivation. For thousands of years our American flora was visited by no other bees than the wild species; for the honey-bee was not found in the Western Conti- nent at the time of its discovery, but was introduced later by the early set- tlers. "The Indians, "saysWashington Irving, "consider them (honey-bees) as the harbinger of the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man, and say that in proportion as the bee advances the Indian and the buffalo retire. It is said * * * that they have always been the heralds of civilization, preceding it as it advanced from the Atlantic borders." (I trust that some of the younger readers of this paper will begin by making a collection of the wild bees in their locality the coming season ; but before doing so they should write to their State Experiment Station and learn how to collect, pin and label their specimens). Waljoboro, Maine. My Florida Visit BY HARRY LATHROP. BEFORE leaving for Florida, I had written Mr, Wilder to look out for a camping place for me and a few old tin cans, as I would be only " a tin can tourist." It was with much disap- pointment that I learned, on my arrival at Bradentown, that Mr. Wilder had gone to his headquarters in Georgia on account of the death of his general foreman. I did not see him at all. Attached is a picture of my camp. Per- haps he can tell where it is ? I had several informal visits with A. I. Root; also met Ernest when he was down. Herbert Clute, whom I knew when he had an apiary at Greenwood, Wis., lives at Palmetto, where he is doing well with about 300 colonies of bees. I had a nice visit with him and his good wife. Herbert has traveled over every part of the State. He says the bee- keeping territory lies in narrow strips around lakes and bays, and at certain local points. While one can do well in beekeeping in Florida, it was my impression that the States bordering on Lake Michigan are far better ter- ritory. Florida, to the northern man, is a great botanical garden, a wonder land full of beauty, such as he had never dreamed of because so different from northern scenery. It will pay any beekeeper to make the trip, and once he has seen it he will want to go again. I had some nice times fishing and boating, but most of the time I spent among the truck farms and in the forest, trying to learn all I could about soils, plant growth, timber, fruit and vegetables. I was informed they had been picking strawberries since Christmas, and the quality was as good as the best we can produce. All the vegetables were of excellent quality. I reveled in sweet, luscious oranges; but I learned one thing, that everybody will have apples. I bought some in spite of the fact that I had so many other kinds of fruit. The apples sup- plied were from the far distant State of Washington. It would appear that some of the central States could do as well producing apples to supply these markets as the Florida growers do in citrus fruits. Go where you will, the apple is the king of all fruits. We arrived back home April 1, and found the bees in good condition in the cellar. It was on my arrival at home that I learned of the death of F. B. Cavanagh. It gave me a sad heart. While we did not agree as to the price of honey, I loved him from the first time I saw him, and esteemed him highly. He was an honor to the indus- try of beekeeping, and will be missed at our gatherings. Bridgeport, Wis. Tunis or Punic Bees? BY A. LENOEL. IT is a rash enterprise to fight fashion, whether in ladies' hats, horses or honey-bees. The g-oldoi bee is fash- ionable. That is a fact. It has the color and the name, but, all considered, does not the pure black bee bring more g^oM to its owner ? That is an interest- ing question which may bring jests first, then criticisms, but perhaps after- wards compliments. I do not propose to tire the reader with lengthy articles, but hope to be able to discuss the following points in different numbers of this journal: 1. Replies to criticism of the Punic bee. 2. Its origin and habits. 3. Its culture by the natives. Its purity. Its faults. 4. Transformation from the native culture to modern methods. 5. Comparative study of the race with the Italian and others. 6. The future of the Punic bee as re- gards honey, beeswa.x and queen pro- duction. Hakky Latiiroi' in Cami' in Florida. Transporting Arabian Hives of Bees in Tunis. The Punic bee is the common black bee. But living in a country where it has not been subject to mismating, it is purer, more resistant, and more in- dustrious than the common bee of the continent. The following faults are mentioned against it : She is small. She is cross. She swarms too much. She builds too lit- tle comb. She is small, yes. That is due to the fact that the Arabs never change her combs. The cell walls are reduced at every hatching, and the development of the bee is cramped. The careful bee- keeper helps increase the size of his bees by judicious renewal of the combs. She is cross. That happens only with unskillful handling. The Arab, three-fourths naked, works with his bees without care and without acci- dents ; the apiaries of the settlers are usually located near the door of the June, 1914. 205 American Hee Jonrnal j Queen-Rearing Apiary of Mr. Lknoel. in Mabeul. Tunis. home; the bees make much noise, but give trouble to neither man nor beast. She swarms too much. That is be- cause the hives are both too shallow and too narrow. They swarm because they are too numerous for their abode. They multiply very fast. She builds too little comb. If she really swarms too much it is evident that she must build combs rapidly, for the one cannot go without the other. It is easy to find fault. But I hope, in the last of my articles, to show her good points. Meanwhile, I trust the readers will peruse in an impartial spirit what I will have to say further upon this important question. Nabeul, Tunis. [Mr. Lenoel, the writer of the above, comes to us well recommended. It is a hard task to fight for an already con- demned cause. We bespeak for him courteous consideration. — Editor.] the foundation while the string merely lays in contact with it, or barely touches it. Whether the splint is boiled in wax or not the bees often try to take it away. The few splints I used were fine broom straws straightened by soaking, then weighted at one end and dried. I also split bamboo, which gave a hard, tough fiber not much larger than a thread. This idea I got from Mr. Edison's electric light filament ex- periments. Dr. Miller is a good guesser. I do not know how much the fuzziness of the string was resented by the bees, but the string was removed before the foundation was fully drawn out, as I expected it to be. However, it had sup- ported the foundation until enough comb had been built to keep it in place. The strings were saturated with wax. How could they help being when melt- ed wax was poured over them? A cheap string is better than one made of long staple cotton, as it is easier to remove. A thing must not be condemned without trial. These string " splints," let me explain, are used i/s a temforary support. My frames are wired for per- manent support. While "actual trial mtiy show less trouble with strings than imagined,'" it may also show that it is an ideal way to support combs. I find it so. There is no gnawing away of foundation. The closest scrutiny fails to show that the comb had been artificially supported. I expect this season to try a hundred new frames with strings alone. If they fail me I shall make chunk honey out of the combs. The careful experimenter this sum- mer will put a frame in the hive with medium foundation, one with light, two more with wires, two with strings, and two more with both wires and strings, and keep the hive hot. But not one person in a hundred can carry an experiment to a logical conclusion. Dr. Miller can, and I can — sometimes. Buck Grove, Iowa. No. 3.-Doubling the Yield of Surplus Honey BY G. C. GREINER. THE success of the season's cam- paign depends in a great measure upon spring management. It paves the way, as we might say, for future operations. Some of the advantages of my method, outside of heavier yield, are directly due to the preparations and treatments our bees receive before the honey-flows are expected. A descrip- tion of my method would not be com- plete without a description of prepar- ing them for the harvest. I will, there- fore, give a few stray thoughts con- cerning my spring management. To produce doubled and trebled yields, your first aim must be to control swarming. (This is one of the inci- String Splints BY IiR. A. F. BOXXEY. iAM NOT surprised that Dr. Miller makes some guesses (page 161) about my string splints, but I am that he should pass on the matter with- out a trial, and I trust the Editor of the Old Reliable will let me have a final say. Dr. Miller is not the only one whom splints have not satisfied entirely. I have yet to see the beekeeper who was satisfied with them, and I am sarcastic enough to suggest that Dr. Miller might not have been had he not in- vented them. I know / have clung to awkward things because I invented them ; but I am a stubborn sort of a brute, to say the least. The Doctor confesses that sometimes they " make a gap of an inch or so in the founda- tion." With five splints, as I have strings, there would be little founda- tion or comb left. Note that the splint is imbedded in A TUNI: Arabian Apiary. The Hives are Covered With Grass and Reeds. Photograph of A. Lenoel. 206 June, 1914. American ^ae Journal dental advantages my rrethod brings about.) We all know, if bees do not swarm and apply all their energy to the production of surplus honey, the yields under favorable conditions may be enormous. At the same time, if we can keep our bees busy, gathering and storing honey, not capping, they are not liable to .>warm. These two fea- tures are so closely linked together that either one maybe considered the cause of the other. My apiary, after the bees are placed on the summer stands, usually consists of these three classes: Prime, medium and weak, and I believe the same is the case with every lot of bees at this time of the year. The only difference that may exist is the proportion of the three classes. With one beekeeper, who has the wintering problem at his fingers' end, the first kind may be in evidence, while with a less fortunate brother, the other end of the line may be predominating, but in either case the three kinds are there just the same. All the colonies that are strong in bees, and have six or more combs of solid brood are classed "prime." Any of these are liable to swarm during the latter part of May. To prevent it they are divided during apple-tree bloom (in this locality about May 10 or 12), the queenless half being provided with a laying queen. In the way of making these divisions, I have nothing new to offer. I practice the old-fashion method of taking the old queen with two combs of brood from the mother col- ony, place them in a new hive on the old stand, and move the former with a caged laying queen to a new stand. If the operation is properly performed it is the simplest, most convenient, and most workmanlike method of making artificial divisions. The advantages of doing it at this early period are easily explained. No other apiary work is crowding. The beekeeper has plenty of time to e!i*ecute every detail with care and forethought, while a month or two later the same work would neces- sarily have to be slighted. The divided colonies, too, have plenty of time to recuperate. Each half has the oppor- tunity to build up to proper working condition before the white-clover flow begins. I have no trouble with swarming. I am relieved of all the time-wasting use- less operations in the line of hunting and destroying queen-cells, clipping queens' wings, which I imagine is the cause of many queens being injured, shook swarming, in itself an unpleas- ant job, greatly interfering with super work, etc. All these manipulations are pulling at the wrong end of the rope. Instead of removing the cause, they are expected to prevent the efifect. It is not the presence of queen-cells, but the disposition to build them, that induces swarming. Cutting them out does no more remove the desire to swarm than clipping the queens' wings. At the time the divisions are made, all vacant space in the hives is taken up by chaflf division-boards, dummies, fill- ers, or whatever they may be called. The hives that contain the old queens are reduced to five frames; one comb of honey and two empty combs being added to the two combs of brood taken from the mother colonies. The space of the two combs taken from the latter is also taken up in the same way. To make these changes convenient, the division-boards 1 use conform to my rule of uniformity. Shorter in length, they are cushioned at the ends to fit against the end boards of the hives; but in thickness they take up the same space as the brood-frames, so t'l at eight, the number of frames I use, just fill the hive. Whenever it is desirable to change from one to the other, the same number of one will fill thespace of any number of the other. As soon as the old queen has started brood-rearing inthe two empty combs, I exchange one of t'e division-boards for an empty comb, the latter being placed in the c liter of the brood-nest. A lit- tle later, according to the progress of brood in this ad led comb, another division-b'iard is exchanged in like manner, and still later the third one is exchanged. With a vigorous healthy queen (we should have no other), this treatment results as a rule in a hive full of brood and bees by the time the white-clover flow begins, and if bees are then supplied with the necessary empty combs (extracting supers), we can expect rapid storing. The removed mother colonies are treated practically in the same way. The spaces of the two combs of brood taken with the queen are taken up by division-boards, which are placed on the outside of the remaining combs. It takes a little longer before the intro- duced queens are accepted and laying, but whenever this takes place, the changes are made, the same as with the other colonies. From these col mie? the co'nb-honeyproducers are selected ; having all young queens, they ar • less liable to swarm. As soon as the season permits, the other two classes, medium and weak, are reduced to as few combs as they can occupy to advantage. With the advancing season, and according to their progress, the former are served in the same way as the divided halves of the prime colonies, and as a rule, they are in fine shape for surplus work, when the flow begins. If any nre a little slow to take their supers, the equalizing method, as described be- fore, brings them up to the desired con- dition. Many of these colonies produce as much surplus hi ney as any of the divided ones; in fact, t'ley frequently excel some of the less ambitious ones of the lattT. The third class, the weak ones, I con- sider of little account. Although I nurse them up as their condition may dictat •, I do not Sjiend a great deal of time with them. I generally unite the better ones, those that promise any re- turns at all, when the flow is on, or, for experimental purposes, exchange them with some of the mediums during the forepart of the season. Uncertain and unprofitable as these efforts may seem at the beginning, I frequently take sur- prising yields fiom these invalids be- fore the season is over. Since writing the foregoing it oc- curred to me that a brief detail of mak- ing artificial divisions as I practice it, might be a help to some young bee- keeping friend who would like to try my method. First, some general rules: Handle b;es very quietly and slowly, and pre- vent all cracking andsnapping as much as possible, when manipulating a hi\e. It is the jarring and quick motion that irrit.ites the n. There is no such thing as cross bees or cross strains in mv experience except in very rare cases. Rough and careless handling will turn the most gentle bees into furies. Always have your smoker reidy for action within easy reach, but use as little smoke as possible. Be master of the situation at all times. Never allow your bees to be- come uneasy. A ver^ few pufifs of smoke over (not between) the frames will keep t!iem quiet, if administered at the right time. Shaking bees on the ground in front of the hive removes all their disposi- tion to fight. The same holds good after a comb is taken out of the hive. It can be leisurely examined without any objection on the part of the adher- ing bees. Use a bee-veil or have one on your hat ready to use. Although I have aot used one in 5 or 10 years, I would ad- vise the beginner not to be without it. Its use produces a certain feeling of safety that greatly assists in quietly handling our pets, especially wh n queens are dealt with. Prepare a new hive with thre.' divis- ion-boards and two emptycombs, leav- ing space for three combs in the cen- ter. Place it behind the c 1 iny to be divided. Loosen the cover of the latter on your side very car .-fully. If bees em -rge, a little smoke will drive them back, and the cover may be replaced for a few seconds t > let the bees yet quiet again. Take off the cover in a slow, quiet way and give it an endwise jar on the ^ round, close to the hive- entrance to drop the adhering bees. With hive-tool (pocket screwdriver) loosen and move the third frame to- wards the center as much as bee-space ivill permit without squeezing the bees. Serve second frame in like manner. This will give the first comb plenty of room to be taken out without rolling bees against the adjoining comb. Look it over carefully for the queen. If the operation is performed during the mid- dle of the day, she may be on this very comb. In eithei case place it in the new hive next the division-board. Take out the second comb and look it over like the first. If the queen is not on this comb, and it contains mostly young, uncapped brood, place it as second comb in the new hive also, otherwise let it take the place of the first comb taken from the mother colony. Take out and examine the third and all the following combs until the queen is found, when she is placed with the comb and adhering bees into the lew hive, and the latter closed. In case the second comb re- mained in the old hive another comb of brood, preferably young brood, must be transferred to the new hive. All the remaining combs in the mother colony should be moved to one side, allowing a little more than bee- space in the center for the suspension of the cage containing the queen to be introduced, and the vacant space filled out by two division-boards and one comb of honey. The latter to replace the first one taken out which generally June, 1914. American l^ee Journal j 2.1: contains mostly honey. The cage with the new queen should be suspended 2 or 3 inches below the top-bar. A little wire-loop with ends turned at right angles to catch the top-bar will do this very conveniently. The pasteboard cover over the hole to the candy-supply must be replaced by tin or a wooden plug for two days, when this protection may be removed and the bees allowed to liberate the queen by gnawing out the candy. At the same time all combs of brood must be carefully examined, and all started queen-cells destroyed. For the same purpose I examine every hive daily, until the queen is accepted. Occasionally it happens that I find a queen liberated and balled on the third day. In this case I disperse the troubling bees with a few puffs of smoke and re-cage her for another 24 hours, after which she is generally ac- cepted. My home-made wire cages are more convenient for re-caging than the mailing cages of the trade. La Salle, N. Y. Sections in the Four Stages— Photograph by G. C. Greiner. Dr.Miller*s ^ Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the .American Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, III. He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail. Transferring— Increasing— Requeening 1. I wish to transfer from old hives to tood ones. When is the best time and what is the best way to do tlie job ? 2. Is this a eood time to feed bees, and how- is the best way to do it ? , . , 3 I have a double-walled hive, and wisti to know the best way to stock it with bees Shall I wait for a new swarm or take frames out of some of the hives I speak of that need repairing ? 4. Would it be best to buy a nucleus and a queen or bees by the pound ? 5. I have 13 colonies, and would like to have them put off one swarm each for in- crease. How can I govern them so as not to have more than one ? 0. Would it be safe to feed now with a Boardman entrance feeder without startin robbing ? 7. 1 have never introduced new queens, but have the same ones 1 begun with two or three years ago. Do you think I should introduce new ones, and when ? ., _ - ^ 8. Is it necessary for frames to be wired ? „,„________ Indiana. Answers.— I. On any one day when bees are flying freely it is a simple matter, sup- posing lyour ;hives are all alike, to lift the frames successively out of a hive that needs repairing and put them into another hive that isiinlgood order. If you have not enough hivesjn good order t® accommodate all. go as far as^you can, then put in order the hivei you have emptied and fill them on a sncceeding clay, 2. Any time is a good time to feed bees if there is any danger of starving. It is also well, even if there is no immediate danger of starving, to see that they have abundance to last until harvest and a little over. Of course, it will not do to have the frames so filled that the queen has no room to lay. but there is not much danger of that, for when brood-rearing gets well under way it is sur prising how rapidly the honey is consumed in preparing food for the babies. The very best way to feed is to give frames of sealed honey. Likely you haven't any, but now is a good time to makela mental resolve that you 2vi7/ have some in readiness for next spring. The best way to feed these heavy combs in early spring is to put one in each hive under the bottom-bars. This is easily done if you have bottom-boards with a space 2 inches deep. If you have no such deep bottom-board, then you must open the hive and put in the frame of honey, then use sugar syrup, half sugar and half water, feed- ing it in a Doolittle, Miller, Boardman or other feeder. 3. If the frames are of the right size, change the contents of one of the old hives intothenew one: otherwise wait until you can put a swarm in it. 4. That will beall right if you want to in- crease that much and want to stand the ex- tra expense. 5- When a colony swarms, hive the swarm and set it in place of the old hive, putting the old hive close beside it. both hives fac ing the same way. About eight days later move the old hive to a new stand 10 feet or so away. That's all you have to do; the bees will do the rest. When the old hive is moved to a new place, the field bees that go out to forage will go just the same as if they had not been moved, but when they return from the field, instead of returning to the old /^-o/f they will return to the old/Vaoper doz. Nuclei, $1 25 per frame. Bees. Ji.soperpound Full colonies. Sframe. $6,50: lo-frame. $7.50. Stover Apiaries. Mayhew. Miss. British Golden Queens. Carniolans leather colored Italians, tested. Ji 50 each Diseases unknown. William Beck. Scosthrop Apiary. Bell Busk, via Leeds. Eng. For Sale— Fine Italian Queens. See my large ad. in this issue. J, F, Archdekin. Rt. 7, St. .Joseph, Mo. viii Queens— Moore's strain of leather- colored Italians In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address, Ogden Bee St. Honey Co., Ogden, Uta June, 1914. American "Bee Jonrnal Italian QuEENS-Bees by lb. Descriptive List free. Apiaries under State inspection. Leaflets. " How to Introduce Queens. I5C. •■ How to Increase." 15c; both, 25c. ./.Ait E. E. Mott, Glenwood, Mich. QuEENS-10 percent discount for .orders received before May i. to be hlled in May and June. Tested. $1.00. untested, 75c. Dead ones replaced free. 2A9t S Click. Kt. 2. Box Hj. Mt. Jackson. Va. We Wii I, be in the field with good Italian Queens in June for $1 00 each; 0 for $5 00. Twoframe nuclei in June without jueen. J2.50; with Queen. $1.00 extra. D. J. Blocher. Pearl City. 111. PnEI.i's' Golden Italian Bees are hustlers. Italian Queens. 5-banded. for sale. Ready April IS. Untested queens. 75c each, or 57.25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. lalley. Queen Breeder ^,( Rt. 4. Greenville. Ala. Ready after April 20, Good Italian Queens. Tested. $.00; untested. «c. Satis^laction guaranteed.^^ Adams St.. Little Rock. Ark. California Italian Queens and bees by the pound for June and later delivery Booked full until June ist. Circular and ?.'k"w?ni.?5lscmy^Ave^anJose^Calir Northern-reared Queens of Moo';?'s strain of leather-colored three-banded Ital_ ians. After lune 15. untested, ti.oo. 6 tor $5.00; 12 fo^r $g 00. ^ ^_ _ u,.,„„„v, Minn. Ramer & Gluen. Harmony, i If You need full colonies or nucleus colo; niesof bees write us for prices on healthy good working stock. Tested Italian Queen. Sr ^i;- untested, Si. 00: six. 55 00. I f Str"ngham, .05 Park PI.. New York. N.Y. Apiaries Glen Cove. L. 1. NS. improved Red Clover Italians. IRY MURRV'S strain of i ^"ded I'alians 3 better queens at any price Bes stock ?b°tainable""No"fouibmid- or other disease. Latest up-to-date methods in queen-rearing. Testid I for $.100. h for $5.00. Untested, i for 'h '^n-MMrrv^ Queen-Breeder. Mathis, Tex. R Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens Ready March i. They have been bred for three points, prolificness. Be".'l«"'^=s%f "<^ honey-gathering Qualities. ,/."?"■ ^j^'^,^' Untested. 75c each; 6, 54.25; '-••fl'h^ 't, L^ too. 560. Tested, 51.50; Seect Tested 52.00. ' Garden City Apiary Co. R. R. 3, Box 86. San Jose. Calil. For SALE.^Three-banded Italian Queens, bred from the best honey-gathering strains that are also hardy ^"d gentle Untested niipens 75C- six. $4.25; 12. $«.oo. I estcd. Jl.25 , 6 J7o"!'i2 $.2! For select queens, add 25c each to above prices Breedingqueens Si.oo f„ Ko, each For queens in larger Quantities write for prices. '*°^,farfo''n''N'-J. PURE Golden Queens the best that twelve re?e^^^es".e''J°^"o^o''eac^i;"'^retdeVs!Vrto r5t'"|rn^d'for'?iookleton^;;^Be^es^a£Dis. "^^"0 South 4oth St.. Philadelphia. Penna. GOLDEN Queens that .Pi-oduce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal I^r SSM-SO-'N^cliarpeTji^ne ^L5.. Write us for prices on large lots ol queens. Try us and be pleased „,,ffaln 'iVx Bankston & Lyon, Box 141, Buffalo, lex. Golden and j-banded Italian and Carnio- lan queens, ready to ship after April ist. Tested. 5:. 00; 3 to 6, 95c each ;6 to 12 or more. 00c each. Untested. 75c each; 3 to 6. 70c each; 6 or more. 65c. Bees, per lb., 5i 5o; Nuclei, per frame. Si. 50. C. B. Bankston. Buffalo. Leon Co.. Tex Dunn's Golden Italian queens, bred strictly for business that produce a strong race of honey gatherers. March i to Oct. 15. One. mated. 7;c; 6. J4.2';; 12. 58.25; So. 532. so; 100. 560. L. J. Dunn. Queen Breeder. 2A«t Box j37 G. R. R. 6. San Jose, Calif. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated. 5i. 00; six. ts.oo; Tested, 53. 00; Breed- ers. 55.00 and Sio, C. W, Phelps & Son. 3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton. N. Y. QuiRiN's Famous improved Italian queens arenorthernbred and extremely hardy; over 20 years a breeder. Colonies, Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H. G. Quirin. The Queen Breeder. Bellevue. Ohio. Queens Bred from Doolittle's best stock. Untested. 60c each; 56.6operdoz; Sso per 100. Same stock of one-year old queens removed from our colonies to prevent swarming, soc each; 55.40 per doz; 54o per 100. Delivery guaranteed. Nuclei 2-frame. S1.50; 3-frame. 1200. Add price of above queens wanted. We have a rare bargain of apiary of several hundred colonies of bees for sale on easy terms. Particulars on request, Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff, Calif. Famous North Carolina Bred Italian Queens for sale (red clover 3-banders). Hon- ey-gatherers good as the best. Strictly reared from Geo. B. Howe's best breeders; mated with Root's. Moore's. Davis' Select Drones; bees that get the honey. Free from disease. Untested, one. 75c; per doz.,57..5o. Select untested, one. 5i.oo; per doz.. 50.00. Tested, one. 5i.25. Select tested, 5i.5o. Ex- tra select tested. 52.00. Breeders. 53.oo and 55.00. H. B. Murray. Liberty. N. C. Guaranteed purely mated i-band Italian queens, J. E. Hand strain, bred for gentle, prolific, honey-gathering, wintering, and long life. State inspector's certificate. Queens by return m.iil or your money back. Before July i. select untested, one. $1,006, $5.00; tested, one. $1.25; 6. $7.00; select tested, one J1.75; 6. $0.00. Breeders, $500, After July I. select untested, one 75c; 6. $4.00; 12. $7.00; tested, one. $1.00; 6. $5 00; 12. Jq.oo. Se- lect tested, one. J1.25; 6, $7.00; 12. $1300. Breeders. $4.00; 10 percent discount on 30 days' advance orders. Safe delivery guaran- teed in United States and Canada. Refer- ence First National Bank. , . , J. M. Gingerich. Arthur. III. Three-Banded Italian Queens. Before Julv ist. untested, one. Si. 00; b. Ssoo; 12. So.oo. Select untested, one. 51.25; 6. S6.25; 12. 5ii. After July ist. untested, one. 75c; 6. 5400; 12,57.00, Select untested, one. Si. 00; 6. Ss.oo, 12 58.50 One-frame nuclei. 75c; 2-frame. $150; 3-frame. 52.25. To each nucleus add price of Queen. Our Queens are reared in a locality where there has never been disease, and reared from strong vigorous colonies. The apiary is under most com- petent supervision. Safe arrival and satis- faction guaranteed. Horner Queen & Bee Co.. Ltd.. Youngsville. Pa. HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey.' Sample for stamp. Null Co.. Demopolis. Ala Wanted— Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax. R. A. Burnett & Co.. 6Ai2t 173 S. Water St., Chicago, III. For Sale— No. i whitecomb. Ssooper case fancy, 53.25; 24 Danz. sec. to case, and 6 case; to carrier. Wiley A. Latshaw. Carlisle. Ind. Siooo 'one thousand). I will pay the above amount in cash for one pound of honey that is equal to my A'fi/ A'//>c (Harnessed Sun- beams) Honey in digestibility, nutrient, value or tiavor. Samples and prices free C. W. Dayton, Owensmoutli, Calif. SUPPLIES. Bee-Keeper, let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co., 4Atf Greenville. Tex. Better Hives . for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick. Sunnyside. Wash. The a. I. Root Company's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation Poultry. Sup- plies. Seeds. Write for catalog. The Chas. E. Hopper Co.- 185 Wright Ave., Toronto. OiTt. The National Beekeepers' Association now buy supplies for their members. Send us your order, enclosing the same money you have to pay others, and we will buy them for you on the co-operative plan. If not a member we reserve the right to retain 51.50 from the profits on your first order to pay your membership dues and subscrip- tion to the Review one year. Sample copy of the Review free. Address. National Beekeepers' Ass'n.. Northstar.Mich For Sale— 300 8fr. supers in flat with fence separators and section holders, fitted for plain sections, 4'»X4^4Xi;2. with super springs, each $30 cts. 250 of above set up and painted 35 250 in-fr. like above, set up. painted 40 300 wood-zinc queen-excluders. 14x20 12}^ 200 " " 16x20 15 20 chaff division-boards, nailed — 15 " I comb bucket 75 " 10 supers for Imp. Lang.-Simp. hives 20 25 Miller feeders, with super for 8- fr. nailed and painted 3S 50 Porter bee-escapes, with board, painted, for 8-fr. hives .30 50 Porter bee-escapes, with board. painted, for lo-fr. hives 35 30 full depth 8 fr. hive bodies with full drawn combs. 8 in hive, each t.so 50 lo-fr. hive bodies with 10 Hoff'n frames set up and painted, each 50 COPY OF certificate OF INSPECTION. Redwood Falls. Minn.. May 6, 1014. This is to certify that I have this day in- spected the apiary of Mr. F. A. Gray, and found no evidence of any contagious dis- ease. J. A. Holmberg. Stit/t- Inspector of At'iarics. All of the above supplies will be sold in lots to suit. All of the above supplies except those in flat have been used, but are in fine condition. V . A. Gray. Redwood Falls. Minn. FOR SALE For Sale— 22 iM-story Danzenbaker hives with brood frames and section holders; practically as good as new. Sr.50 (M of price list). 5 i-story, 5ioo. Bees were transferred, combs and frames boiled to melt wax. No disease. Alfred Mottaz. Utica. 111. For Sale— 240 colonies of bees and every- thing for running three apiaries for ex- tracted honey. Also 120 acres of land in a good location where raspberry, clover, bass- wood and fall flowers grow. Write for price. E. S. Frost. Rt. 8. St. Louis. Mich. MISCELLANEOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos). Write Dr. Bonney. Buck Grove. Iowa, for samples. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col OTiy; my neighbors got none, I'll tell you how for 25c. O. N, Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. Make paint without oil cheaply. Best known for bee-hives, barns, coops, etc. Formula, isc. I. Holmberg. l''.l Dorado Springs. Mo. SITUATIONS. Wanted— A reliable man to work with bees. State age. experience and wages in first letter. Rocky Mountain Bee Co.. Forsyth. Mont. June, 1914. 211 American Vee Jonrnal )j^-~^^^^^^y \ WANTFn TO ExcHANi^K— 8 and lo frame Dovetailed hives in fiat. Dadant uncappin cans, and other supplies; all new Koods Want honey. .Stanley Incalls. l.enox, Iowa. The Beekeepers' Review ClubbineList The Review and American Bee Journal one year $1.50. The Review and Gleanines one year $150. All three (or one year only $2.00. Dealers, or those wanting to buy honey, kindly ask for a late number of the Review havine a list of 100 producers havine honey for sale. Address. ,,. . The Beekeepers' Review. Northstar, Mich. POULTRY For Sale- Single Comb Buff Orpineton eges for hatching, pure bloods: li.oo per 15 or Svoo per hundred. Satisfaction Ciuaranteed. W. H. I'ayne. Hamilton. 111. Statement of Ownership, Management, Circulation, Etc., of the American Bee Journal, published monthly at Hamilton, Illinois, required by the Act of Aug. 24, 1912. Editor— C. F. Dadant. Business Manager— M. G. Dadant. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders holding one per- cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or securities — None. C. P. Dadant— Editor. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 23d dav of March, 1914. [seal.] H. M. Cuerden, Xoiary Fublic. My Commission expires March 25, 191.5. SAVE YOUR QUEENLESS COLONIES We can furnish vigorous Tested Queens by return mail for $1.00 each. Untested Queens ready April 15. $i.oofor single queen ; $0.00 per doz. Three-banded Italians only. No disease, and satisfaction guaranteed. J. W. K. SHAW & CO., Loreauville, Louisiana ITALIAN QUEENS NORTHERN BRED Superior winterers, sec- ond to none. My free list explains it all. Untested. Si. 00; select tested, $1.50. Bees by the pound or half pound. Plans. " How to Introduce Queens. " 15 cents. " How to Increase." 15 cents; both. 25 cents. E. E. MOTT, Clenwood.Mlch. ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS Three banded. Bred for persistent profit able production of honey. Prolific, hardy, eentle. The bee for pleasure or profit. One customer says, "Your queen soon had her 10 frames runnine over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction guaran- teed. Orders filled promptly. Ready May 20. DntMled, tl 00 eich : 6 for S.oO : doi.. SIO. Select leslel, {2 eich J. F. Archdekin, R. R. 7, St. Joseph, Mo. Miller's Strain Italian Queens By return mail after June 5th to loth or money refunded. Bred from best RED CLOVER strains in IS. In full colonies from my SUPERIOR BREEDERS, northern bred, for busiiies.s; lone tongued; leathei color or three-banded; gentle; winter well; hustlers; not inclined to swarm; roll honey in Untested, i. $1.00; f'. J5.00; 12. J5 to $i.7S per case wholesale. Extracted amber honey from S/^(?6Jic a pound. White extracted from 7/^@ioc a pound, according to quantity and quality purchased. We want beeswax at 32c a pound delivered here. The Fred W. Muth Co. Indianapolis. Mav 17.— Kancy white comb honey is being offered here at i6@i7c per pound; amber comb at I4@i5c. White clover extracted g@ioc in 5-gallon cans. Much comb is being held here, but at this wilting there is very little demand. Ex- tracted is in fair demand. Producers are being paid 32c cash for beeswax or 34c in trade. Walter S. Pouder, Boston. May 18,— tancy and No. i white comb, is®i6cper pound, Kancy white ex- tracted in 6Q-pound cans, iic per pound. Beeswax. 30c. Blake. -Lee Company. Kansas City. Mo., May is.— Our market is about cleaned upon comb honey— not a case left in the wholesalers' hands, and very lit- tle left in the retailers'. Plenty of extracted honey, and the demand is very light. New comb honey in 24 sections should sell for $3.25 to $',.50 per case for No. 1 quality. We quote extracted, white, at 7Jj@8c a pound. On beeswax we quote 30c for No. i. and zsc for No. 2 quality. C. C, Clemons Produce Company, Denver. May 16,— We have no more comb honey to offer. Are selling extracted honey in a jobbing way at following prices White extracted, 8c; light amber, 7c. We pay 32c per pound cash and 34C in trade for clean yellow beeswax delivered here. The Colo, Honey-Producers' Ass'n. Frank Rauchfuss. Mer. Los Angeles, May 20.— I beg to advise you that that quotations on honey at present are as follows: Light amber alfalfa. S/^c; light amber sage. 6c; fancy white sage and white orange, 7®8c.Beeswax is in very light supply. and is quoted at 32c. Hamilton & Mendrrson. New York. May iv.— As tocomb honey, we have nothing new to report. There are quite some off grades of amber still on the market unsold, as there is no demand to speak of for those grades, and it is almost impossible to find buyers. In regard to extracted, the demand is only fair while arrivals are large, especially from ■West Indies, and the new crop is beginning to arrive from the southern States, We quote nominally from 58@75C per gallon, ac- cording to quality. Beeswax firm at 34@35C Hildreth & Segelken. EASTERN BEEKEEPERS This is the season when you will need bees or supplies Our catalog, which is free, will show you how to save money. We have a large stock and can ship promptly. Italian queens, $1.10. I. J. STRINGHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L.I. ■NUTMEG" ITALIAN QUEENS By return mail. , 3 ej^^PMAft St'V* hADTFORD.COnn. ll'yite for prices by the hioidred ^^^^^!S1IS^IS3SE^E[3^CS3IS^[S^^ISIS^IISCS^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Untested Italian Queen-Bees OUR STANDARD BRED 6 Queens for $6.00; 3 for $3.50; 1 for $1.25 American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois ^ (S ^SESSSSSESS^SSSS^S^^^S^EE^^ 212 June, 1914. American fUte Joarnal WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Prices. Yours very truly, HILORETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y. Three-Band Italian Queens For 1914 I will again have for sale, after April 1st, young queens reared from my Ipesi Leather- *■ Colored Breeders. You will make sure of improving your stock and securing a crop of honey if you introduce Some of these queens. The Leather-Colored Italians are recommended and used by the largest and most progressive bee-men of today. Untested. $1.00 each; $9,00 per doz., $7S per hundred. Select Tested, $1.50 each. C. S. ENGLE, Beeville, Bee Co., Texas 3 BAND LONG-TONGUED RED- CLOVER ITALIAN QUEENS For Sale.— My long- tongued Goldens are proving themselves to be the bee to clean Koul Brood. This is why I have such a large trade in Canada. Mr. K. L. Cox, of JesuD. Iowa, in- troduced soof my i-band queens in Foul-Broody colonies in igi2; and he said the disease was cleaned up where each of those queens was put. They gathered such a large crop of honey in IQI2 that he bought so more in I'ju. One Untested, 75c; 6, $4.00; 12, $7.50; 25, $13.50; 50, $25.00 Doulile the above for tested queens. Bees by the pound: One lb., $2.00; 2 lbs., Ji.oo. One-frame nucleus, S2.00: 2 frame, $i.oo; 3- frame, $4.00. To all the above packages add the price of queen. I will begin to send out queens in April. Positively no checks will be accepted. .Send money by P. O. Money Orders. All queensarrivingdead will be replaced if cage is returned by return mail. J. B. ALEXANDER, CATO, ARK. OUEENS Pure leather-colored Ital ^''^■^■'*' ians bred in isolated loca- tion; mated to drones of a heavy storing strain; cannot be beat for comb honey; cai) white: enter supers readily, with little in- clination toswarm. Oucens are reared under best possible conditions Will begin mailing about June 15th. (Jet your orders in early, as the great est rush is always at the opening of the sea- son. Orders promptly filled. Safe ilclivery and satisfaction guaranteed. Prices: One 8sc: (> for $4 so: per doz,. SS 00. No foulbrood, Send for circular. D. C. LITTLE, HARTLEY, IOWA Keep More Bees- Better! A bit step toward this goal in the production of Comb Honey, is the use of the new Rauchfuss Combined Section Press and Foundation Fastener. Does more and better work than anything on the market, Price, 53. '10, delivered anywhere in the United States. Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back. Send for illustrated circular today to ' The Colorado Honey-Producers' Association ^^*^^J!ir^'^Jj- Denver, Colo. EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 29 years' experience in making everything for the beekeeper. A large factory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsville, Missouri Free BOOK For Beginners or Old-timers Lots of good tips on raising those wonderful little money makers in this book — describes our complete line of bee supplies. Bees Help Pay the Grocery Bill Little expense, fascinating pas- time. Act on good impulse, start right now. Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co., Dept. 1, St. Louis, Missouri Q-U-E-E-N-S The Old Reliable 3-Band Stock My queens are reared from imported stock which makes a beauti- ful bee. They are fine honey - gatherers, and very gentle. Try my queens. Send me your order, and if not satis- fied will return your money. Safe arrival guaranteed. Untested Italian, 1, 75c ; 6 $4.25; 12, $8.00- N. FOREHAND, R.F. D. 2, Brewton, Ala. Buy Carniolans in Carniola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awtriied 60 — . Uooors Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheincr-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria QUINN'S QUEENS OF QUALITY Not coming, but are here to stay. Best bee for any climate. Purest of the pure GREY CAUCASIANS Hred strictly in the light of Mendel's Laws of Heredity; no auess, but positive results. The pioneer scientific queen-rearine estab- lishment of America. We lead, others may follow. Every queen guaranteed as to purity of mating:. Special isolated mating station on bald open prairie, not a tree within miles— no chance for eypsy drones. CHAS. W. QUINN Box 389 - Beaumont, Texas ITALIAN BEES Choice Home-br«d Queens Reared In strong colonies. PRICES FOR MAY Untested Queen, ..1.25 One Tested Queen $1.85 Select Tested 2.40 Breeder 3. 60 Comb Nucleus— no Queen $1.50 Safe arrival guaranteed. For description of each grade of queens send for FREE catalog. J. L. STRONG, Clarinda, - - Iowa TryMy Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what one customer writes: - Josephine, Te.\., June 10. 1013. Mr. M, Bates, Greenville, Ala, Di-cir Sir:— I am sending you Sq.oo for which please send me 12 Untested Golden Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are fine, and old bee rearers say they are the finest tliey ever saw. They have surely made a reputation here for you. .Several men say they will order queens soon. A. M. Morrison. I have other letters that say the same. .Selected Untested, each $1.00: Tested, each $i..i;o; 2-frame nuclei, each Jj.50. I euarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. N. BATES, Route 4, Greenville, Ala. LARGEST, BEST and most complete line of Bee and Poultry Supplies ever seen in Illinois at the lowest livine prices. Satisfaction Kuaranteed or money refunded. Kslablished in i8«o Send !or our new cataloe. Let us hear from'you. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne,lll. .luiic, 1914. 213 American Hee Journal )^;^a<^-t^iQ Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doine our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wide-awake beekeeper wiiether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in iqiv when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for iqu. Kor lou we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so deliehted our readers during the last three years In deciding just what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority' JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue for 1012. In tietting out another special number devoted to tlie interests of poultrv-raisint; and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers" standpoint. FEBRUARY— Bees and Fruit.— Our March isth issue for IQ12 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subject. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in //('//crproduction. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. . MARCH 1— Beekeeping in Cities. — Probably few beekeepersrealize the number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic. and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by professional men, we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a //■//(■ story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL ^ Breeding — Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted queen-breeders on qualifications of breeding queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1 — Moving Bees We, ourselves, expect to move ;ioo colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto-truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. —There has never yet been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop 2nd market reports from various parts of the country. In igi4 we are going to make the effort of our lives to get telegraph reports from impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt. Texas. Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we get them, but in this August ist issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- ports and conditions 01 the market in gen- eral. No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1— Wintering— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of 1013-14. wliich experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for igi4. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price, $1.00, will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio I SPECIAL DELIVERY t During this month we shall double our usual efforts in points of delivery and service. We carry nothing but the Root make, which ensures the best quality of every thing. We sell at factory prices, there- > by ensuring a uniform rate to every one. The saving on transportation charges from Cincinnati to points -t south of us will mean quite an item to beekeepers in this territory. We are so located that we can make _^_ immediate shipment of any order the day it is received. 9 New 64-Page Catalog "^P" Our new 1914 catalog contains double the pages of former editions, and requires extra postage. It is i^v, filled from cover to to cover with complete lists of goods in every line to meet every requirement of bee- V$J keepers. If you haven't received a copy when you read this, be sure to ask for one. It will save you money. :^; New Features for 1914 X Few radical changes have been made this season. It should be noted, however, that we will send out t, with regular hives, unless otherwise ordered, the metal telescopic or R cover with super cover underneath. The side rail for the bottom-board will be extra length so as to overcome the difficulty experienced by some " last season. Improvements have been made in extractors. We shall carry a very heavy stock so orders ■t- may be filled with our usual promptness. Write us your needs. Early-order discount this month 2 percent. I C. H. W. WEBER & CO. f CINCINNATI, 2146 Central Avenue, OHiO | '(B: '<^' June, 1914. American Vee Jonrnal Thale's Regulative Vacuum Bee-Feeder i'lcases everywhere. Not a diss; your honey crop by stimulative known. Send 55 cts. in stamps ti St. Anne. III.. April 14. IQ14. H. H. Thale. Maywood. Mo.- Ih-ar .V//-,— Please send me five more feed- ers with bottles. 1 am well pleased with the ten I got some time ago. I don't think that any one will be sorry of their investment, as they are the best feeders I have ever used, and have tried all of them. Yours truly. C. W. Dyon, atistied customer. Let me double feeding. Most practical method )-day for a sample feeder. I Satus. Wash.. May 14. 1914. I H H. Thale. Maywood. Mo. — Dear Sir: — Your feeders work perfectly. They are better than any feeder I have ever used. I am using them side by side with other feeders, and like yours the best. Yours truly. J. A. McCowAW. TERMS, CASH WITH ORDER Sample feeder with two bottles complete, postpaid 10 feeders with one bottle for each feeder 25 ' 60 feeders with one bottle for each feeder Extra bottles with cork valve each I .65 3.00 7.50 15.00 .10 H. H. THALE, Inventor and Manufacturer Box A 25, Maywood, Missouri Eastern buyers send orders to Earl M. Nichols, Lyonsville, Mass., and B. H. Masters, Edison. Ohio, and Harry W. Martin, New Holland, Pa. Northernlbuyers send orders to Minnesota Bee-Supply Co., Minneapolis, Minn. BEES BY RETURN MAIL Three-band Italians only. Every one knows their good traits for gentleness and honey gathering. They are unsur- passed. Every queen sent out by us guaranteed. Tested, $1.00 each; Untested, 75c. $8.00 per dozen. J. W. K. SHAW & CO., Loreauville, La. (IBERIA, PA.) CYPRIAN QUEENS We have an apiary of pure Cyprians which we have arranijed for queen-rearing. Prices. Untested Queens, $1.00 ; Select Tested, $2.00 W. B. DAVIS CO., Aurora, Illinois Bee-Supplies LET US FIGURE WITH YOU We know we can satisfy you on quality. Write for catalog. C.C.CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. Dept. S., Kansas City, Mo. SYRACUSE CHICAGO NEW YORK BALTIMORE CANONSBURG CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY INCORPORATED HONEY CANS All Styles-All Sizes Friction Top Boxed Square Cans 60-Pound Shipping Cans HONEY PAILS S I Sales Offices : 72 W. Adams Street, Chicago 616 W. 43d Street, New York City June, 1914. 215 American Tiee -Journal 11 QooocooooccosososccoeccccosccoeosoGGOOQoeoooososoo NARSHFIELD GOODS 1 BEE-KEEPERS :— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield !e&OGeQeocoGsooocoooeoooo«>osoc<>oocooeooeQ! Beekeepers' Supplies and Fruit Packages We manufacture the famous Sheboygan Hive, which always gives absolute satisfaction. Our perfect sections, made from selected white basswood, are rec- ognized as the best on the n-iarket. Catalog now ready for distribution. Write for copy. SHEBOYGAN FRUIT BOX COMPANY, Sheboygan, Wisconsin »ooQOoooosoooooooooose/u!,K\ .^rjni to Ponder.'* BEE-SUPPLIES EOUIPMEKT Store room built expressly for the business ; large con- crete basement with just enough moistuie to prevent breakage in sections. No shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. QUALITY Root goods at factory prices. The kind that 1 have sold for " nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I might have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but I would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsib lity in safe delivery of the goods. Catalog free. WALTER S. POUDER, 873 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Queens That "Are Better" Italians and Banats Untested Queens. 75c each; $8.00 per dozen; two or more dozen in one order. $;.5o per dozen Tested Queens. J1.2S each; $12 00 per dozen. Breeder Queens. $3.00 each. Foreign trade add 5 cents each extra. M\h. pound packages of bees after May i. $2,00. Select queen wanted, add to this. The ex- press charges on these will be very small in comparison with charges on frame nuclei. One-frame Nuclei, with untested Queen. $2.00 each; 2-frame. S3.00: 3 frame. $4 00. Full colony of bees in lo-franie hive. $7.00. Add so cents if Tested Queen is wanted; (2.00 if Breeder Queen is wanted. For ten or more colonies or nuclei, deduct 25 cents each. I have successfully shipped bees and queens from this place every month of the year. I started two colonies Jan. 25 on their voyage to Nutsusarida. Kobe. Japan. Each con- tained a Breeder Italian Queen. Dear .S;>;— The two colonies of bees shipped by you arrived safely, and are perfectly satis- factory. M. Sarida. Kobe. Japan. My Bee and Queenexhibits at the State Fair of Texas were awarded six premiums in iqii. Italians also were'awarded First Prize at the Cotton Palace in Waco. Tex. " Your Money's Worth " is my motto. Terms are cash with order. I refer you to Sabinal National Bank'or any business firm in Sabinal. I nave ten yards, and with several hundred nuclei I can serve many customers. I solicit your trade. J. A. Simmons, Uvalde Co. Apiaries, Sabinal, Texas FLAX BOARD Flax Board is now used by thousands of beekeepers East and West. We have in our office hundreds of unsolicited letters from some of the largest and most progressive beekeepers in the United States, saying that it is lust the thing that they have been looking for for many years, and that they are putting in on every hive in their apiary. The cost of Flax Board is small. It undoubtedly will pay foi itself many times every season. You. of course, know that you must protect your bees against the cold in spring if you want to rear brood for the early honey crop- You also know that most of the heat escapes at the top of your hive while the cold comes in at ihe bottom. With the use of Flax Board, however, you can entirely overcome this. We will gladly send you a small sample free ifjyo will write for it One-half inch thick Flax Board to fit top of hive: Size. Price. Weight. Bframe $ .loeach iV lbs. 10 frame 11 " ' - Order a lot. Try them on some of your hives and compare the ilifferencc. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY CO. '£ZX ''^^t Matin I'lii-turi-rs 01 DoTelailed Hives, Sections, and Shipfinf; Cases. July, 1914. American l^ee Journal CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or lo frame, 25c each. Covers and bottoms, prices upon application. Fal- con Foundation and Bee Suptilies. FROFALCON QUEENS Kverythint' for the beekeeper. Address. J. C. Frohliger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco PVa»e mention Am. B'^e Journal when writing. D A D il C C ' FooM>owet DAnllLO Machinery Reaj what j 1 t*iiiaoNT 3f CJliiixi- wn, N Y says "^We cat with on* of yoor Dombln&a hlachlnea^ la«t winter 60 cnaff hlTec with 7-in caj^ 100 nonej raofcg 600 "or^od -frames >,00© honej-boxea, and a ifreat deft) cf other »rort Tfiiswiflter we ha*# iiocbi«tJBa.TiijaiiC jf tfcae-hives.c'io , ia Diakv honey-producers of the world. Such men as ■^ - P,FF ^MOKFI? Mr. France and the Dadants use the Bint- ^^ , I )i-i^ ^-^1 lyyi vi^iv ham. By co operation Mr. Townsend uses ^Qfc^ „,j„„,„. six Smoke Engines' For sale at your dealers . ^^ Patentea or direct. Postage extra. / K^^^^^^_ Smoke Engine. 4-inch stove; wt. each ^^ — ^■:^^^fc«. 134 lb $1.25 Doctor. 3'2-inch stove; wt. each i^a lb... .85 Two larger sizes in copper, extra 50 Conqueror, 3-in. stove; wt. each. \% lb.. .75 Little Wonder. 2;4-inch; wt. each lib... .50 Two largest sizes with hinged cover. f Woodman "^ Style Veils Our veils contain Xyi yards of the best material for the purpose — imported French tulle veiling. They are made with a rubber cord in the top to fit around the hat, and the lower edge has the cord arrangement, the two ends going around behind the body, and back in front to tie. This arrangement holds the veil down on the shoulders snugly, away from the neck, and permits the wearer to handle bees in his shirt sleeves with no chance of bees crawling up and under veil. With a hat of fair size brim to carry veil away from the face, you are as secure from stings, movements as free and unrestricted, and as cool and comfortable as you would be at a summer resort. All cotton, each, postpaid $ .50 Cotton with silk face. each, postpaid 60 Bee-hat. flexible rim. fits any head, postpaid 35 Extra silk face piece, postpaid to Long-sleeve bee-gloves, postpaid 35 Such men as R. F. Holtermann, J. E. Crane & Son, N. E. France, and many others all over U. S. A., order a supply of these veils each season, year after year. A. G. Woodman Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land- None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H. S. Duby. St. Anne, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. •>cooo<:>oociac<>c«<-v-production. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1— Beekeeping in Cities.— Probably few beekeepers realize tlie number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most mteresting topic and in addition to stories of beekeeping told by professional men. we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a //-//c story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL — Breeding. — Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted queen breeders on iiualifications of breeding queens. Queen rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1— Moving Bees We, ourselves, expect to move aoo colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. SEPTEMBER I Wintering.— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in J regard to wintering. A number of specialists I are going to make experiments during the 1 winter of ion 14. which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for 1514. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price. $1.00, will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COiVIPANY, Medina, Ohio July. ini4. American Vee Jonrnal WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Prices. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich SL, New York, N. Y. Three-Band Italian Queens For 1914 1 will again have for sale, after April 1st, young queens reared from ray best Leather- *■ Colored Breeders. You will make sure of improving your stock and securing a crop of honey if you introduce some of these ipieens. The Leather-Colored Italians are recommended and used by the largest and most progressive beemen of today. Dntested. SI. 00 each: {9.00 per doz., $75 per hundred. Select Tested, $1.50 each. C. S. ENGLE, Beeville, Bee Co., Texas Gray Caucasians Best Bee for Everybody Glass Honey Dishes The Handiest Dish in the Home Cambined Bee-brush and Hive Tool A Great Tool for the Bee Yard Ant Dope Guaranteed to Rid Everything of Ants Prices sent free. Write to-day. A. D. D. Wood Box 61, Lansing, Michigan Ajn Now Shipping Ootested Qqmds from ny CELEBRATED PEDIGREED STRAIN! ^ pCWTOE^ "^ ySwarthmore,o , My bees are the product of many years of breed- ing by both Swarthmore and Henry Alley. Both names stand out like beacon lights among our past and present breed- ers, for the best queens ever produced in the United States. Never had foul brood. SWARTenORE APIARIES. Swarthmore, Pa. Queens of Quality 3-band leather color. Lnt.. ooc each : $7 uu per doz. Sel. Unt. 75C each: $8.oo per doz. Circular free. J. I. BANKS, Liberty, Tenn Comb Honey Producers-ATTENTION ! 'I hi- time of niitiitiB UD secticiiis can hi- cut in ha If hv usine the now Rauchfuss Combined Section Press and Foundation Fastener. Guar anteeii to Kive sali.sfaction or your monev hack Price delivered anv- wliere in tlie United States by I'arrel l^osl. $1.00. SlikI for illustrated circular today. The Colorado Honey-Producers' Association ^'•d°„'!I!"''?Li^*' Denver, Colo, EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 'l\) years' experience in making everything for . the beekeeper. A large factory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsvilie, Missouri Free BOOK For Beginners or Old-timers Lots of good tips on raising those wonderful little money makers in this book— describes our complete line of bee supplies. Bees Help Pay the Grocery Bill Little e.xpense, fascinating pas- time. Act on good impulse, start right now. BJanke Mfg. & Supply Co., Dept. 1, St. Louis, Missouri Q.U-E-E-N-S The Old Reliable 3-Band Stock My queens are reared from imported stock which makes a beauti- ful bee. They are fine honey • gatherers, and very gentle. Try my queens. Send me your order, and if not satis- fied will return your money. Safe arrival guaranteed. Untested Italian, 50c each ; $6.00 per dozen. N. FOREHAND, R.F. D. 2, Brewton, Ala. Buy Camiolans in Camiola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awiriled 60 Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheiner-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria QUINN'S QUEENS OF QUALITY Not coniint:. but are licie to stay. Best bee for anv climate. Purest of the pure GREY CAUCASIANS Bred strictly in the litiht of Mendel's Laws of Heredity; no^uess. but positive results. The pioneer scientific queen-rearing estab- lishment of America. We lead, others may follow. Kvery queen guaranteed as to purity of matinn- Special isolated mating station on bald open prairie, not a tree within miles— no chance for gypsy drones. CHAS. W. QUINN Box 389 - Beaumont, Texas ITALIAN BEES Choice Home-bred Qaeeiu Reared In stronj colonies. PRICES FOR MAY Untested Oueen. ,. .00 One Tested Queen Ji.jo Select Tested i 60 Breeder 2.4S Comb Nucleus— no Queen 90 r'p lb. bees w 'I '■ " 1.75 Safe arrival guaranteed. For description of eacli grade of qoecDS send for EREE catalog J. L. STRONG, Clarinda, - - Iowa Try My Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what one customer writes ; — Josephine. Tex., June lo. 1013. Mr. M. Bates. Greenville. Ala. Dear 6'/>.— I am sending you $0.00 for which please send me 12 Untested Golden Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are fine, and old bee rearers say they are the finest they ever saw. They have surely made a reputation here for you. Several men say they will order queens soon. A. M. Morrison. I have other letters that say the same. Selected Untested, each ooc; Tested, each $1.25; 2-frame nuclei, each $2.50. I euarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. N. BATES. Route 4, Greenville, Ala. LARGEST, BEST and most complete line of Bee and Poultry Supplies ever seen in Illinois at the lowest living prices. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Established in 1800 Send ior our new catalog. Let us hear from you. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, III. BE CAREFUL OF YOUR HONEY CROP Now that you are through with all the anxious work preliminary to gathering in the honey Look to It that Your Honey Crop Goes On the Market Right! See that Your Honey Is In Lewis Sections The sections that are scientifically right-^made out of nice bright Wisconsin basswood The manufacture of Lewis Sections is watched over by experts Lewis Sections Fold Perfectly Lewis Shipping Cases ARE SUPERB Do not cheapen your product by inferior cases. You can afford the best Remember, your shipping cases are the show windows for the sale of your goods Your honey will bring more money if well displayed INSIST ON THE LEWIS MAKE G. B. LEWIS COMPANY, Watertown, Wis., Sole Manufacturers Thirty Distributing Houses Send for the name of the one nearest to you (Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamilton. 111., under Act of March 3. i87g.) Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First Natioaal Bank Building C. p. DADANT. Editor. DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL., JULY, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 7 Editorial ^ Comments . Golden Wedding On May 19, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Cowan, of England, celebrated their golden wedding. Mr. Cowan is the senior editor of that well-conducted magazine, the British Bee Journal. Our congratulations are most heartily ex- tended. Porto Rican Beekeeping This is the title of Bulletin No. 15, which has been issued by the Depart- ment of Agriculture, price 5 cents. Do not send stamps as they are not ac- cepted by the Department. This bulletin gives an account of the success of the late efforts to introduce practical bee culture in Porto Rico. Dr. Phillips spent several weeks in the Island last year, and his report, ac- companied by statistics and several half-tones, makes very interesting read- ing. Does the Queen Know the Sex of the Bgg She Lays ? In " L' Apiculture Nouvelle " for May, Mr. Ledoux gives the picture of a comb in which there are both worker and drone cells, but in which, however, the queen laid drone-eggs in worker- cells only. Mr. Ledoux holds that this is an argument in favor of the opinion that the queen does not know the sex of the eggs she lays, otherwise this one would have laid those drone-eggs in drone-cells. The argument is plausi- ble. A drone-laying queen does not seem to have any preference of cells. But it would seem probable that if she knew the sex of the eggs which she lays, she would place them in the proper-sized cells, when they are in easy reach. Color Sense ot the Honey-Bee We are in receipt, from our able con- tributor, Mr. John H. Lovell, of five bulletins, reprints of articles written by himself in "The American Naturalist," "The Journal of Animal Behavior," and the " Popular Science Monthly." These extracts all touch the question of the color of flowers and the color sense of the honey-bee. It is out of the question to quote these articles at length. The author's conclusions are similar to those reached by our leading bee writers years ago, that " bees easily distinguish colors, whether they are artificii-l or natural colors. Bees that have been accustomed to visit a certain color re- turn to it habitually; they exhibit ' color fidelity.' " Mr. Lovell tells us that color, al- though it attracts bees, is not alone sufficient to draw them, as many con- spicuous flowers are never visited by bees. But he shows that among the numerous green inconspicuous flowers only a few are honey producers, and attract bees less quickly than nectar- iferous flowers which are conspicuous and agreeably scented. He shows that bees are, as a rule, faithful to a single species of flower. They exhibit "flower fidelity " as well as color fidelity. However, this is cor- rect only where there are great num- bers of flowers of the same kind, as many of our beekeepers could testify. But it is true that even entire colonies show this fidelity to one kind of blos- soms, and Mr. Lovell quotes the well- known California apiarist, M. H. Men- dleson, who reported that in 1884, one colony out of 200 gathered honey ex- clusively from mustard bloom, while the 1S)9 others gathered from the sages. We have ourselves seen, in seasons of honey-dew production, some colonies harvest their entire supply from that source of dark honey, while some others harvested freely from white- clover bloom. He calls our attention to the well- known fact that plants whose blossoms furnish nectar only at certain hours of the day, like buckwheat, are visited by the bees only during those hours, in spite of those flowers continuing their color display and their sweet odors during the rest of the day. He draws from this the conclusion that " bees are guided by the memory of past ex perience in gathering nectar," and soon abandon a search for honey in blossoms which either have discon- tinued their honey-flow or whose co- rolla is too deep for them to reach the liquid, as in red clover. The fact that bees remember the hours at which they can find food was proven to me, in 1885, by Mr. Lang- stroth. During a visit which I paid to him, we had seated ourselves near his apiary, discussing bee culture. Towards 4 o'clock in the afternoon I called his attention to a little excitement in the apiary. This apiary consisted of only 5 or 6 colonies, and a number of bees were flying about, at the rear of one of them. " It is the hour of their feed," said Mr. Langstroth, and going to the kitchen, he returned promptly with a pan full of syrup for which those bees were evidently looking. They at once 224 July, 1914. American Vae Journal alighted upon it and began filling them- selves. The hours at which buckwheat fur- nishes nectar differ a little in different localities, and the bees accordingly vary their hours to suit the nectar- gathering possibilities. When the corolla of red clover is shorter than common, owing to droutli, the bees are not long in finding it out and they work upon it, even though several years may have elapsed since a single honey-bee had such an oppor- tunity. The pamphlets above mentioned may probably be had at low cost by address- ing the author, Mr. John H. Lovell, Waldoboro, Maine. They are well worth perusal, by the lovers of Nature study. ^____^^^ c. p. u. Parcel-Po.st Paokag-e This time it's Allen Latham. From him comes a package of candied honey in brick-form, about 2x3x4 inches, weighing in the neighborhood of a pound. It is wrapped in a single piece of paraffin paper long enough to go two or three times around. This is contained in a neat, light, wooden box. The whole affair is of the simplest kind, no instruction being needed to tell the customer how to open it. The preparation, however, may not be so simple as the package looks. The size is all right to put upon a plate, and the consistency of the honey could not be improved except for those who prefer honey in the liquid form. Indeed, it is of such peculiar consis- tency that if one blindfold d were to eat it upon bread, one might not really tell whether it were candied or liquid. While entirely granulated, it is a bit creamy, making it nearly, if not quite, as easy to spread as butter. One que- ries whether it would be possible to secure always just the degree of con- sistency. It would be a desideratum. In one respect something is left to be desired. That very consistency which makes the honey so nice for a spread is such that when the paper is peeled off it does not come off clean and dry, but some of the honey clings to the paper, leaving the cake a bit messy. Likely there is no help for this. Generally, however, it is easier to have the dry cake, and then it will not be so nice for a spread. Although flavor has little or nothing to do with mailing honey, the unac- customed Illinois palate is struck with the peculiar flavor (sumac ?), which, as there is no accounting for tastes, may or may not receive general approval, with a leaning toward the belief that it may. D. M. Bryant, of Ethelfei.ts, Va.. With an Early Swarm. Heat Ke^ ounces, will have to be marked " minimum weight 12^ ounces," as the wood of the section practically weighs an ounce. This will cause a great deal of e.xtra labor to all comb- honey producers, and some expendi- ture for the proper rubber stamps, pads, etc. It is necessary that the attention of all beekeepers should be called to this matter at the earliest po sible moment, so they can prepare th mselves for it and see that none of their honev goes out unless properly marked. Where a number of beekeepers are marketing t leir honey through a common chan- nel, as through an association, it of course becomes necessary that each individual section should have an iden- tification on it either in the shape of initials or a number. We will take steps so that our members will mark all their honey in this way. If you will bring the contents of this tel-gram before your readers in the next issue of the Bee Journal, you will greatly oblige. Colo. Honev-Producers' Ass'n. F. Rauchfuss, Mgr. TELEGRAM. Washington, D. C, May 25, 1914. Frank Rauchfuss, 1440 Market St.. Denver, Colo. Regarding the branding of honey in frames or cartons, weight of actual contents should Ire marked upon frames of individual units or upon the outside of the cartons when used. Regulations paragraph H, minimum weight "blank" ounces is suggested as convenient form. Letter follows. C. L. Alsberg. Letter above referred to just re- ceived ; quote the following from it : " We note the custom of your associa- tion, and in that connection your at- tion is particularly called to paragraph H, as suggesting a convenient method of branding wMch will meet your con- ditions. The statement of weight, how- ever, should be that of the contents, exctusii'e of the luooden /rame." F. Rauchfuss. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Oh o Field-Days at Medina On July 9 and lU, there are to be two field days at Medina, Ohio. This has been ar- ranged by the Ohio St ite Beekeepers' Association. As Medina is the home of the A. I. Root Company and of our progressive contemporary. Gleanings in Bee Cul- ture, there will no doubt be a large at- tendance. One of the Dadants will be present if possible. pendence Honey-Producers' Club," pat- terned somewhat after the Colorado Honey-Producers' Association. Their main object is to get fair and reason- able prices for their honey. Wm. Muth- Rasmussen, of Independence, is the manager. Canadian Bee Paper. — The Canadian Horticulturist and Beekeeper is a very pretty magazine, and contains a lot of interesting maiter. We commend it to our friends on both sides of the line. It is published monthly at Peterboio, Out., and is the organ of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association. Association Formed in California Beekeepers of Independence, Calif., and vicinity have formed the "Inde- An Ontario Field Meet. — An invitation from the Ontario beekeepers to meet with them May 25, Victoria Day, at the Forks of Credit, situated in a very ro- mantic spot, was accepted by me, and gave me an opportunity of testing the hospitality of Ontario beekeepers. In spite of a rainy morning and e.x- ceedingly cool weather, some 80 per- sons gathered at 10 a.m. at the place of meeting, one of the apiaries of the well-known, active Mr. Sibbald, whom I had met before at the Ontario con- vention. The overcast skies cleared as the crowd reached the place of meeting, and opportunity was furnished to visit the neighboring hills which are very picturesque. The dandelions, wild and domestic apple trees and numerous A Part of the Crowd in Attendance at the Toronto Field Day. 226 American Hee Journal bushes were in full bloom and the bees were harvesting honey. Plentiful lunches had been provided by the ladies' committee, so that both the noon and evening meals were en- joyed at the apiary, under the welcome shade of maple trees, right by the leap- ing, clear stream. The secretary, Mr. Hopper, who is certainly true to his name, was inde- fatigable. He attended to everything, was everywhere, and saw to everybody's comfort. A better president could not be found than the genial, broad-breasted and broad-hearted Irishman. Mr. G. R. Chapman. To meet him is to like him. The only regret in this occasion was the absence of both Messrs. J. L. Byer and E. R. Root, whom press of work at this busy date held to their post. Why should we not have more of these field meets everywhere ? The Iowa beekeepers have planned several for the present summer. Let each State do the same, and the beekeepers will become better acquainted with one another, besides enjoying an occa- sional day of rest. On the way home, I met a fellow traveler who turned out to be an active advertising agent. Born in France, educated in Philadelphia, he is con- stantly on the move, and, having a very thorough education, he appre- ciates all progressive things. He had read Maeterlink on the bee, and asked many questions concerning our indus- try. I should not mention this occur- rence, had I not received from this gentleman some very good suggestions that the beekeepers need to consider. While sitting with him in the dining coach, I called his attention to the article " honey " on the bill of fare. This honey, put up by the Root people, is excellent and a very good advertise- ment. He tried a portion, at my sug- gestion, and wondered why people did not consume more of it. "Did it ever strike you that your beekeepers ought to join together and advertise their product ? Honey is not a staple because it is a luxury. But it is better than 9!> hundredths of the sweets which are sold so extensively. Luxuries will not sell nowadays unless they are advertised. I know this by experience, and I know also how prof- itable it is to advertise. Spearmint gum, the sale of which I have helped to push, is only one particular grade of gum, neither better nor worse than any other. It sells because it has been largely advertised. Its sales, of $300 . per month a few years ago, now run to about $2,000,000 per year. Postum, a product inferior to coflfee, has been ad- vertised with an expense of some $2000 per year. In 18 years they have made $20,000,000 of profit out of it What could be done with as meritorious an article as 'honey' by advertising it, when you can quote even the Bible in its favor ? A few thousand dollars, spent by the beekeepers each year, would create a demand that you could not fully supply." Dear readers, this is true. As Mi. Byer said, in the June number, beekeep- ers cannot advertise personally, but why can we not join hands to do so ? An expenditure of $2000 per year would be small if it could be sustained ^^Hj f-m,-^ ^'^1^fl^i^'^^.r0^f^<:^ . • r 1 "^ Wqp& ' *■■'•-" ----r-5-' ■■ %''^*- (\- f 3^"- .. The Speakers and Organizers of the Toronto Field Day. by the entire fraternity of those who make the growing of bees their princi- pal occupation. Perhaps less than one- fourth of one percent of the actual value of our product would enhance the price and quicken the sales, so as to prove of immense benefit to all of us. Mr. Williams, the present secretary of the National, has urged some such scheme. The "Honey Producers' League," a few years ago, embarked in an effort of this kind. Their attempt was misunderstood and disregarded by the beekeepers. Yet some similar arrangement must be made by the rank and file before we can expect as much demand for our goods as there exists for some of the vilest compounds that are palmed upon a credulous people. remedy occasionally causes cancer. A few applications of honey made at night upon contaminated hands have shown the efficacy of this cheap and inoflfensive remedy. — Bulletin de la So- ciete Romande. New Jersey Beekeepers Summer Meet- ing— A summer meeting of the New Jersey Beekeeepers' Association will be held on July 8 at the apiary of Robert Spicer, of Wharton, Morris Co., N. J. It is reached by the D. L. & W. and C. of N. J. railroads. An interesting pro- gram is being prepared. E. G. C.\RR, Sec.-Treas, Field Meet in Eastern Illinois. — The .")th annual Beekeepers' Day will be held under the auspices of the Eastern Beekeepers' Association Saturday, July 11, in the apiary of H. S. Duby, at St Anne, 111. We hope this meeting will be the best ever held both in point of attendance and in interest. State In- spectors Kildowand Pyles will be pres- ent, as will also a number of prominent bee men. Two colonies of diseased bees will be on the ground, and those present will be asked to state the kind of disease the bees are afflicted with. Lectures will also be given in the after- noon in the yard, and at night in the hall. These meetings are gotten up to edu- cate the beekeepers, and as many as possible should make an effort to be present and take advantage of the op- portunity. Clarence Dyon, Sec. Walter Sorenson, Pres. Honey to Remove Warts. — Doctors often warn tin- public against the use of acids to destroy warts, as such la Beekeepers' Picnic at McGregor, Iowa. — May 10, the first of the Iowa picnics was held at a little summer resort known as McGregor Heights, situated on the top of a high Iowa bluflf over- looking the confluence of the Wiscon- sin and Mississippi rivers. It is one of the most scenic spots on the Upper river, and well adapted for public gath- erings, as it is close to town and is provided with a pavilion. About .50 beekeepers and their fami- lies from different points in northeast- ern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin attended the picnic. Most of them came by automobile. The day was a perfect May day. Everybody had brought baskets full of good things, and lunch was spread on tables on the brow of the hill. Followini; the dinner, addresses were given by N. E. France, of Platteville, Wis., who has been in- spector of apiaries in the Badger State for 18 years, J. Alfred Holmberg, of St. Paul, State Inspector of Minnesota, and also by Mr. Pellett. Mr. France spoke on the "Control of Bee Dis ;ases." He has been making an intimate study of foul brood, which has appeared in some localities in Wis- consin and Iowa along the Mississippi July, 19H. American Hae Journal river. During his talk he incidentally brought to light the fact that tho'gh the bee industry is little exploited as compared with other agricultural forms of production, yet for every bushel of apples grown in Wisconsin in 1913, Hi pounds of honey was pro- duced. Inspector Pellett told of the growing interest Iowa farmers are taking in bees, and predicted a big expansion of the industry in the State, as climatic conditions are admirably well suited to the purpose. Picnics similar to the one held on McGregor Heights have been arranged by Mr. Pellett for Forest City, Iowa, June 17; D;*lmar, July 7; Des Moines, July 15; Mt. Pleasant. July 28; Clarinda, Aug. 12, and Siou.xCity Aug. 20. It was voted at the McGregor meeting to hold another picnic at this place next May. A much larger attendance undoubtedly will be had. Florence L. Clark. Large Apiaries Most Popular in Porto Rico. — Fortunately for the future of the industry, the apiaries now established in Porto Rico are usually large, and most of the beekeepers are planning to increase both their size and their number. Amateur beekeepers, so com- mon in the east of the United States, are conspicuous by their absence. Almost all of the present beekeepers are Porto Rican, only a few Americans being interested so far. Beekeeping had not developed in Porto Rico to any extent before the Ameiican occupation in 1898, but since that event the building of good roads has enaoled more individuals to in- troduce modern methods profitably. Beekeeping in Porto Rico should, how- ever, be done on a large scale, accord- ing to the Department's investigators, because of the distance from the mar- ket. It, therefore, seems advisable to encourage professional beekeepers rather than those who keep small api- aries of about half a dozen colonies, because the beekeepers usually sell their product for too little a price, and are not interested in a financial way. The fact that most of the beekeepers have had but two or three years' e.x- perience, makes it all the more remark- able that they have prospered as well as they have. The corporation plan of beekeeping, in which the individual keepers unite to form companies, has not yet taken hold in Porto Rico, but will very probably be undertaken after the keepers have had more experience. The problem of long distance for ship- ping supplies and crops will be aided by such co-operation. In 1901, Porto Rico shipped $4«i worth of beeswax out of the country. From June, 1913, to January, 1914, beeswax was exported to the United States from Porto Rico valued at $.-)ti20. For the whole of 1913 the export of beeswax to the United Stales was worth only $042.5, which shows the rapid increase of exports just during the past year. BEE-[ftEPiNG <^ For Women Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo. 111. More Work to Produce Comb Honey What alot of work there is to be done with comb honey ! Producers of ex- tracted honey have a comparatively easy time of it. Especially is this dif- ference felt in getting ready for the crop. If you produce extracted honey, you simply put your e.xtracting combs on the hive, and there you are. But if you produce comb honey you must clean your supers, with whatever per- tains to them, wet your sections, put them together, fasten the foundation in them, put them in supers, and then put in separators and wedge them in. All of this takes a good deal of time. It may be of interest to tell the actual time needed for some of the important parts of the work, according to obser- vations that have been taken. Before the sections are put together it may or it may not be necessary to wet them. It is better to get along without wetting them, not only to save the time and trouble, but be- cause there is some danger that when they are wet not only the grooves but sometimes the parts to which the foun- dation is to be fastened are wet, and that may make bad work about the foundation adhering. If, however, the wood of the sections be very dry, then it may be neccessary to wet the grooves to avoid loss by breaking. It makes some difference whether the weather is very dry or wet. Also it makes a difference whether the sec- tions are kept in a dry or a damp place. They may be put in a damp cellar for a few days before making. Keeping a damp sheet over them will help. If they must be wet, it may be done in a wholesale way, so that the time taken Beekeepers' Hicnic at McGregor. Iowa, May io 228 July, 1014. Amorican Hee Journal will not count for much. Before being taken out of the box a fine stream of boiling water can be poured along the line of the grooves, the water going clear down through the whole of the box. Putting the sections together with the Hubbard machine does not count for such a great deal, for it can be done by any one without experience, even by a child. Putting foundation in the sections, however, is a matter ol some skill, and practice is needed. The work of putting foundation in a superful of sections, 24, was timed, and the fastest was 3 minutes 32 seconds. This in- cluded putting in a bottom-starter and a top-starter in each section and then putting the section in the T-super. A Miller "super-filler" was used, so it took no more time to put the sections in the super than to set them on a board, perhaps not so much time. But before the foundation is put in the sections it m 'st be cut the right size, and before it is cut it must be stripped of the paper that is used in packing. The makers of foundation seem to take delight in making this stripping as difficult as possible. For- merly a sheet of paper was merely laid between the sheets of foundation, and one could take hold of the edges of the paper and shake out the sheets, doing it quite rapidly after some prac- tice. Then they conceived the idea of wrapping the paper around each alter- nate sheet, and one can imagine them chuckling with glee at the thought of making the stripping so much harder. There is no way but to strip each sheet separately, and one begrudges the time for it. The fastest that could be done was to strip enough foundation for 480 sections, or 20 supers, in 16 minutes. The thin super foundation generally comes in sheets l.'iJix^Ks inches (a pound being enough to fill 120 sections), allowing each strip 4 top-starters 3 '4 inches deep, and 4 bottom-starters js- inch deep. To cut enough to fill 480 sections, or 20 supers, the fastest time was 18 minutes. For such speed, how- ever, everything must be just right. If the wax be too cold it will be brittle and break. Even if not cold enough to break, it may be so cold that it will take three strokes of the knife instead of two to go through si.x thicknesses of foundation. If too warm, the founda- tion will bend and crumple under the knife. Instead of first stripping a large lot, and then cutting it afterward, it is per- haps better to strip only 12 sheets at a time, and then cut it, two piles of six sheets each being laid side by side. Then after the foundation is put in sections and the sections put in supers, separators must be put in the super, also follower and super spring. The fastest time for tliis was 5o seconds to a super. Let us now add up the time taken to get ready a super to put on the hive. Leaving out the time needed in some cases for wetting the sections, and also for folding the sections, and taking 20 supers at a time, it has taken 1(1 min- utes for stripping, 18 minutes for cut- ting, 70- I minutes for putting in top and bottom starters, and 18', minutes for separatoring. That makes 2 hours 3 minutes for 20 supers, or 0 minutes 9 Black Sage and Wild Buckwheat. seconds to a super. For 1000 sections it would take I hours 16 minutes. In a day's work of 10 hours, that would al- low 2341 sections to get leady, or about 97% supers. Note, however, that this is speeding to the limit, and for steady work it would be only fair to allow about half more time. Indeed one should not be greatly discouraged if one took twice as much time. Of course, some one might make faster work, but the rate mentioned is going some. This work must be counted on by one who produces comb honey, and this work is spared to the one who produces extracted honey. Our Deep Bottom-Board— How Made Inquiries have been made as to our deep bottom-boards, especially as to how they are made, and one man even wanted to have a sample sent to Cali- fornia. They are so very simple in construction that a sample is not at all necessary. Here is what is said about it in " Fifty Years Among the Bees:" " The bottom-board is a plain box, 2 inches deep, open at one end. It is made of six pieces of ,"s-inch stuff; two pieces 22J2x2, one piece 12,'sx2, and three pieces I3".,x7.!^. When so de- sired the bottom-board is fastened to the hive by means of four staples IX inches wide, with points '4 -inch long. "With such a bottom-board there is a space 2 inches deep under the bot- tom-bars, a very nice thing in winter, and at any time when there is no dan- ger of bees building down, but quite too deep for harvest-time. Formerly I made the bottom-board reversible, reversing it in summer so as to use the Wll.U ALKALIA at the l.EIT. July, 1914. 221) American T^ee Journal )>=^^#> ] shallow side, but latterly I leave the deep side up summer and winter. "Of course, with a 2-inch space un- der the bottom-bars the bees would build down, sometimes even as early as dandelion bloom. Before that time I shove under the bottom-bars a bot- tom-rack. As material for a rack there are two pieces 18xlx'4, and 21 pieces lOJixjsxJs. The little pieces are nailed upon the -'4 -inch sides of the two larger pieces, ladder-fashion, with |2-inch space between each two strips. The strips are allowed to project over at each side about an inch. "I value this bottom-rack highly. It prevents building down, and at the same time gives the bees nearly the full benefit of the deep space, prevent- ing over-heating in hot weather, thus serving as no small factor in the pre- vention of swarming. It also saves the labor of lifting the hive off the bottom- board and then lifting the hive back again, spring and fall." Something additional might be said, both for and against thisbottom-board. In winter, it is hard to conceive of any- thing better. In the cellar that 2x12 entrance gives opportunity for the fullest ventilation of the hive, and there is never any danger of its being clogged with dead bees, even though it should never be cleaned out through the entire winter. It is a nice thing, however, to be able to clean out any dead bees that may at any time be found on the floor of the hive, and for this the deep space gives plenty of op- portunity, wfhile with a space not more than -'4-inch deep it is rather difficult, especially when the cluster of live bees reaches down to the floor. For outdoor wintering this deep space is also a fine thing. It prevents clogging with dead bees, and allows them to be cleaned out easily. Of course only a small part of the open- ing will be left open through winter, what is left may be either at the lower or upper part of the entrance. On the other hand, it must be con- fessed that during the summer season the action of the bottom-rack is not always perfect. There is more or less building of comb below, although of course nothing compared with what would be built in a 2 inch space with- out the rack. Doubtless the rack might be so made as to prevent all building down. If one does not mind the labor of lifting the hive, it would doubtless be better to dispense with the bottom- rack altogether, and then when hot weather comes to reverse the bottom- board, putting blocks under each cor- ner of the hive. Experiment would determine just how high the hive could be thus raised without any danger of building down. I^ike enough it might be an inch, possibly more. At any rate, with all four sides open there would be less danger of building down than with only one side open, and more ven- tilation. Indeed some have re|)orted freedom from swarming when full opening at front and rear was allowed. But when we have had hives thus blocked up there has been some trou- ble with bees coming out at the side, when we were working at the hive. Also it makes trouble about finding the clipped queen when a swarm issues. But it is a good deal of trouble to draw the staples at the beginning of the season, lift the hive ofT the bottom- board, reverse the latter and then lift the hive on again, and then in the fall to drive in the staples again, lifting the hive twice. Yet //' it would prevent swarming, there would be big pay for the trouble. Caufornia ^ Bee-Keeping Conducted by,]. K. Pi.EASANTS. Oranee. Calif. Planting of Eucalyptus for Honey Produc- tion in Southern California While it has never been considered profitable to plant nectar-producing plants on land that can be made to produce other crops, it would be a wise economy to utilize waste land in this way. On all the mountain bee ranches in southern California there is considerable waste land. Much of it is too steep to till. In places small flats and slopes are too small in them- selves to make tillage for any crop a profit, but in the aggregate would make a total of considerable value if planted to something of permanence. The planting of dift'erent species of eucalyptus on such land would be both profitable to the beekeeper and add much to the beauty of his holding. The dull green of the eucalyptus blends harmoniously with our native shrubs and trees, and from a practical stand- point the more trees we can grow in southern California the better. Of course, I do not mean to clear tht land of any of our native honey plants, but there is much land on every moun- Bi.AcK Sage. White Sage. tain ranch that could be cleared of un- profitable brush and planted to some- thing of value. The artemisia, for in- stance, has spread to an alarming ex- tent in the last few years. Its only use is for winter pollen, but there will always be plenty of it left. It is easily grubbed out, and its place could be filled by a better plant with little trou- ble and much profit. The various species of eucalyptus would be a fine cover for such land, and once established would need no further care. Scattered, or in thinly planted groves, these trees would yield nectar for the bees, and are valuable 230 American l^ee Journal July, 1914. for a number of uses as timber. The reason I say thinly planted is because the thickly planted groves do not bloom freely. The eucalyptus when cut down send up numerous sprouts from the root which grow rapidly, and are old enough to bloom again in a few years. All are useful, and many species very ornamental. This tree is one of the many valua- ble things which we have received from Australia. It was first brought to California before 18'i6, and there are now many old groves in the State. The timber is hard wood. There is an oil extracted from the leaves and twigs, which is used quite extensively as a medicine. The eucalyptus, that is most species, is strongly drouth resistant. Of course the little seedlings must be given a proper start. Where it is not prac- ticed to give them water the first sum- mer, they should be set out early in the winter, after the first rains, and shel- tered in some way from the dry winds until well started. Being deep-rooted trees instead of shallow-rooted shrubs as our native honey plants, theeucalyp- tus are able to reach moisture in the soil, which enables them to bloom and secrete nectar even during seasons of drouth. I have seen the bees like a swarm on the bloom of the "sugar gum," £. corynoca/yx, in August and September of a dry year. An Austra- lian beekeeper who once visited me said, " The yellow hoy. {E. melliodora) is our main source of honey supply in my part of Australia Your shallow- rooted Californian plants would pro- duce no nectar in that climate." I asked him about the quality of the honey, and he said it was good. Personally, I can- not give information as to the quality, as I have not as yet any trees but the autumn and winter bloomers, but have no doubt he was correct. The chief value here in the eucalyp- tus honey would be to supply the bees at times when our native plants failed, for when there is a good flow of sage nectar, for instance, they leave all else for that. But for dry years and a source of fall and early winter supply, the eucalyptus would certainly be a boon to us if we had enough of them. They are profuse bloomers, and as far as I have observed always secrete an abundance of nectar. The A. melliodora, or yellow box, as it is usually called in Australia, has a profusion of honey-scented blossoms which gives it its specific name. It will grow in a variety of soil conditions, and is a valuable tree. Professor Mc- Clatchie, horticulturist of the Arizona Experiment Station, spoke of it in the highest terms for this purpose. Ing- ham, of the Experiment Station at Santa Monica, Calif., says all the spe- cies have value as honey producers, and that from the large number of spe- cies now in the State, species can be selected so there are some in bloom during the entire year, if so desired, so if the natural pasture is good for only a limited time the dearth could be so filled in that there would always be something for the bees to work upon. There are about 150 species of eu- calyptus in their native home, of which we have adopted about 75, either as permanent citizens or on trial at our Purple Sage. California Sumac. stations. The Forestry Station Bulle- tin gives a list which would be suitable for bee forage and their time of blooming. There are several that bloom for a period of several months. The A. melliodoya is listed as blooming from January to June. They mention the fact that the bees seem to have a preference for the white or greenish- white llowers. Most of the eucalyptus have white flowers, though there are several species with colored blossoms which are very beautiful. I have a sin- gle tree of leucoxylon-rosea with beau- tiful rose-colored flowers which is a great favorite with the bees. It blooms from late autumn, varying with the early or late rainfall. It is a very or- namental tree, and very hardy as to frost and drouth. Weather Cool, But Most Colonies Strong The weather continues cool and cloudy. Bees are not able to be out full time. The nights are too cold for a good nectar flow. Black sage is nearly out. It has yielded us some honey, but not a half crop in sight yet. White sage is coming in, but we are at a stand-still just now on account of the weather. Some honey has been ex- tracted from most all of our apiaries, but we have had to quit until there come some bright days. Most colo- nies are strong. July, 1914. 231 American Hee Journal shows so plainly that this strongly built western made case is well pic- tured. Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder, Colo. Buckwheat in Colorado— Mr. F. W. Brainard, of Canon City, and Wesley Foster. State Inspector, admiring the patch. Shipping Bees in Combless Packages from Southern New Mexico to Colorado I told in the June number of the American Bee Journal of the results of shipping bees in combless packages from southern New Mexico to Colo- rado. Since writing that I have had some experience. The weather was warmer, and some shipments came through in very bad order. I had lUO 2-pound packages sent to my apiaries in southwestern Colorado, and there are, out of the 100, 65 good ones and 11 weak ones, making 7t3 in all. There was a total loss of 24, and a partial loss in 11. One shipment of 27 had 20 pack- ages entirely lost. In a shipment of two packages to Boulder during some of the hot weather, one of them was almost a total loss. It will be seen that the loss has averaged one-fourth, and that is heav- ier than should be had to make a real success of the venture. By perfecting the watering can, and having the feed can better protected the loss may be cut down considerably. The feed cans being tacked on get knocked off easily. ■♦ • » Post Cards Showing Different Grades of Comb Honey The Colorado Honey-Producers' As- sociation has put out one of the neat- est post cards I have seen, quality of work considered. It shows three cases of comb honey graded according to the Colorado rules. The shading and color work is about all that could be desired White, Choice, and No. 2 are each rep- resented in their characteristic quali- ties of finish, color and filling. The grain of the sugar pine shipping cases in a color printing job. The No. 1 Crop Prospects Crop prospects still are favorable, although severe hailstorms have visited the district around Windsor in north- ern Colorado, and also in the Arkansas valley between Fowler and Lamar. The loss of bees from smelter smoke (some think the city smoke may have something to do with it) has weakened hundreds of colonies in and about Denver. Several hundred colonies were weakened from the effects of spraying in the Cedaredge district of Delta county. There was a slight loss from spray poisoning in and about Boulder. One or two parties who did custom spraying for their neighbors wanted as long a season as possible and began before the petals had fallen. Bees bred up so rapidly that miny colonies became short of honey about the first of June, and the first week in June was a busy time for so.Tie of us who had to feed promptly to save the bees and brood. As it was some colo- nies were lost in spite of what we could do. Alfalfa has begun blooming and yielding nectar so that the danger of starvation is probably past. Bees near the foothills have been swarming for three weeks, and when they are haule 1 to the alfalfa districts should do good work. Take it all together there is little yet to change in regard to prospects-— we should have a crop of fair proportions in Colorado this year; alfalfa and sweet clover are showing a very luxurious growth, and sweet clover will bloom this year about July 1. The rainfall is now over 3 inches above normal for this year. We have had over 10 inches since Jan. 1, which is doing very well for Colorado. Trout Lake, Colo., between Montrose and the Montezuma Valley. 232 American Hee Journal I a>- - I !■ II ■ II I !■ ■ mi iiim ^""^ July, i;U4. Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy, Ontario. Dry in Ontario Weather is very dry, and clover short and scarce. This describes conditions at present in many sections of Ontario, our own locality among the number. Unless rain comes soon the crop of honey from clover must be light, as the stunted plants will not stay long in bloom even if they should yield nectar. Bees are generally in good condition, so even if the flow should be short chances are good for a light yield, pro- vided there is honey in the clover. Aside from this year's prospects, rain would be welcome, as with con- tinued dry weather the fresh seeding done this spring will kill out, and alsike will be scarce again next year. Unless we get rains soon the buck- wheat will be a failure, too, so natur- ally we are hoping for abundant rains in the near future. Who knows but what we may be having more rain than we want within the next month ? Save Your Beeswax Good advice on page 189, to save all the beeswax from scraps of combs, bur combs, etc. Wax is worth just as much in Canada as it is in the United States, if not more. During my years of inspection work I was often amazed at the appalling waste of good wax. The market is always good, and seems to be getting better each year, owing no doubt to the fact that new uses are being found all the time for the pro- duct, and while there is a possibility, yes, a probability, of the over-produc- tion of honey, I hardly think such a thing will happen to the market for wax for many a year to come. days, shoeing a horse only a short time ago. I wonder how many pampered sons of rich men, who know not what toil is, would be alive at over 100. Truly, work coupled with temperate living is the secret of good health and long life. ■^-•-*^ Equalizing at Clover Flow Some have asked as to the advisability of equalizing colonies at clover flow. While this may be too late for many localities, a word on the subject may not be out of place. As a general rule it is not good policy to do equalizing before clover flow, for weak colonies never want for brood provided the queen is in normal condition, and to give more brood to such colonies would be simply making the situation worse instead of improving it. Even when the clover flow comes on I would not think of doctoring up very weak colonies at the expense of stronger ones, as it would be a losing game. But often there may be colonies not quite strong enough for the supers, while others may be so very strong that you know swarming will occur no matter what plan is taken to avoid it. In such cases I like to equalize by tak- ing from these extra strong colonies enoueh brood to fill out the medium colonies so that all will be in shape for the flow. Done at the right time, ma- nipulations of this kind pay well for the trouble, for in addition to holding back the extra strong from swarming all of the apiary will be- nearer alike, and much will be gained at extracting time by having the yard in uniform condition. One year shortly after starting to keep bees, winter ami spring conditions were extremely bad, and losses were heavy all around us. My own bees were mostly alive, but at opening of the flow the colonies were not ready to take advantage of it. After sizing up the situation I decided to make a judic- ious doubling, reducing the strong colonies to about two-thirds of the original number, leaving the other one- third with their field bees and queen, but with little brood. The colonies strengthened were in fine shape just at the time of the short flow we had that year, and I secured a nice crop. The apiaries nearme leftalone stored very little. Such a condition may never occur again, but it shows that there are times when it pays to double up. One good colony will store more honey during a short flow than will two weak ones not ready for the supers. Soil and Climate Influence Color and Quality of Honey An increasing acreage of alfalfa is being grown in Ontario each year, but it cuts no figure as a honey plant, yielding only lightly about one year in five, and the honey is of inferior quality. Some take the view that soil and climate have no effect on quality of honey, but I suspect that a producer of alfalfa honey in Colorado or some other western State would not own our alfalfa product as being genuine if he compared it with that produced in his own locality. Yes, soil and climate do have an influence on quality and color of honey, whether it be alfalfa, alsike or white clover. Long Life Dependent Upon Work and Moderate Living Last week it was my privilege to shake hands with a beekeeper who is I0(j years of age. He was out in the yard among the bees at the time, and my regret is that I did not have my camera so that 1 could have his picture, as I hardly expect to see so old a man again in the possession of his faculties. His eye-sight seemed fairly good, as he had no glasses on, and as for his hearing, he conversed readily with me. Seemingly, bee stings have not had a bad effect on his health. Most wonder- ful to relate this, man, at the age of lOU, lives all alone and prepares some of liis own meals, although he informed me that liis son on the farm did his cooking as a rule. The gent'eman in question is Mr. O'Neill, of Uxbridge, Ont., well known in all that section of country, h.iving lived there as a black- smith and beekeeper for many years. Born in Ireland, he conies of a hardy Stock, and has worked hard all his Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. Too Much Brood Mr. Willikr: — I cleaned all my supers in early spring and put in starters, but when the bees began building comb as fast as they could build it, the queens filled it with eggs, and it is all solid sheets of brood and no honey. My old box-hives are in the same condi- tion. What shall I do, as I want honey in my supers ? W. T. BfRTON. Childersburg, Ala. You will soon find out that your trouble is a good one, for you have to have a great production in bees before you can expect to gather much honey, and I would not think of cutting this fine crop of young bees out of the frames and again put in starters ex- pecting honey, fur you would almost destroy the entire field force of bees at the time the main honey flow comes on. I know it is customary with box- hive beekeepers who are not well in- formed, to remove in early spring, and from time to time during the season all the young bees in the comb in the supers, or whatever may be used for a storing apartment. This is a great mistake. The best thing to do is to add more storing room above this brood. Sometimes in early spring a colony dwindles down to only a small cluster of bees, and the queen deserts her old quarters below and goes into the super above, and establishes her quarters there for a while, but as soon as the colony is sufficiently strong it will go below again, and the bees will fill the super with honey, but in such cases the super of brood should be placed under the main hive-body which contained the old brood-nest, and the queen will enter it much sooner. In early spring our I'lrst apiary work is to arrange the queen's quarters at July, 1914. 233 American IBae Journal the bottom of the hive, where supers and hive-bodies are left on over wrin- ter, giving her a super or hive-body of combs just above her quarters at each visit. The result is a wonderful pro- duction of bees, and by the time the main honey (low comes on the bees are ready for it. Thegieat trouble witli the average beekeeper is he hasn't supers enough. One super for each colony is not more than one-third enough. Of course, in your case the (|ueenwill soon be forced out of the super to give storing room. The honey in these combs will be dark and spoil the appearance of your comb honey, but you can strain or extract it and you will have a better article. Hurrah for the South ! "I wish I could go South and enter the beekeeping industry.for I am much interested in bees and have been all my life. In fact, 1 have always had them, and have considerable experi- ence in modern beekeeping. I am truly an enthusiast. If I had southern bee e.xperience, I would publish a bee paper and call it 'Dixie Bee.' Every other section of the United States has a representative bee paper. Why not the 'Sunny South?' If it had a bee paper I would surely be a subscriber, because I believe in the South as the best section for beekeeping, especially for the queen-rearing business. 'Hur- rah for Jthe South !' Where would we be for early queens?" J. F. Coyle. Penfield, 111. In some respects beekeeping in the South has advantages over the North, and beekeepers who have made a suc- cesss in the North have come South and succeeded. They have to have southern experience before they can succeed. Many have been the failures before this experience was obtained by the people who came down from the North and settled with us with bee- keeping in view. Now about the bee paper. There can be no doubt that the time is not far distant when a good bee paper could be published here successfully. We are greatly in need of one even at the Mr. Ruffy Examining for a Freshly Introduced Queen. present time, but there is some doubt as to whether one would be sufficiently supported by those interested in our industry at present. There have been a number of attempts at this and all failed. Then, too, it is surprising to note how much the editors of the bee papers printed in the North are inter- ested in our southland, and how much space is given for general topics along the lines of our industry here. Just now we should do all we can to help raise their subscription list. Do Bees Have the Hook Worm ? Mr. Perry, a beekeeper in south Florida, who came there from the North and brought his bees with him, stated that while in the North his bees seemed to be very vigorous, but as soon as they reached the southland this good feature left them and had not returned, though he had been there for several seasons. He said they were in- active and sluggish, and had never at any time stored surplus honey. I sug- gested that they had contracted the " Florida fever," and he added they had the "hook worm." It is strange and quite noticeable that bees in portions of south Florida are more dormant or stupid than elsewhere in the South, and this applies equally to the queens. I have seen strong colonies, seemingly, without enough energy to remove the eggs and larvae of the wax moth from the comb, and as a result the bee and its worst foe live in large numbers in the same hive. Of course their foes, sooner or later, get the best of them, but occasionally for a long period one does not seem to gain much ground over the other, although both are found in considerable quantities in the same hive. It is a little puzzling to know why such conditions e.xist. The Dadants at the Mahon apiary. The Labor Problem Mr. Wilder: — I am much interested in your manner and methods of bee- keeping, but I don't fully understand how you prevent the various persons in charge of your apiaries from "soak- ing you down." How do you overcome the usual laziness inherent in man, and get him to work satisfactorily? After your helpers have become proficient, why don't they get out in business for themselves? How do you manage to retain the services of a good man as general manager in your employment ? I am a very extensive beekeeper my- self, and I am confronted with these problems. Two of my sons will leave for the United States soon in search of expe- rience, and will most likely call on you. Major Shallard. New South Wales, Australia. In the May number of the .American Bee Journal, page 157, you will see the kind of help I employ, industrious, trustworthy men, who have obtained 234 July, 1914. American Vee Journal experience under us. I only keep a lazy man long enough to find out that he is lazy, and then he hunts another job. Every man who has come to me with e.xperience has made a complete failure and liad to surrender his job and go. Some, on learning our methods and tasks of carrying them out, never went on the job. Some made the start, stayed for a while, but did not stay until the first flow was over. Such help usually wants ?(i5 or $7r) per month and expenses, and an apiarist cannot go into a new field and earn this much per month. The failure in such help usually lies in the e.xpression, "Can't carry out your methods." Well, we go for help away out in the country, and get boys from the farms, who have never lived in a town or city, and have never had but one job, and that was right with their parents. When such a boy is given a job, that is the only one he knows of, and he sticks to you and works regularly. Being ac- customed to hard and constant labor on the farm, he never murmurs at any task, early and late. Such boys, as a rule, have no bad habits, and are hon- est. A boy who has been reared in town or city is often the reverse. He is in and out, and does not " stick to his bush." I have a large number of applicants all the time. By and by such help will be left in sole charge of bees, some- times working them for a salary, but usually on shares. We give a man em- ployment for a while, say for four or si.x months, then let him work 200 col- onies on shares for a season, then let him increase them or give him more near-by bees. Satisfy your men in the business and let them prosper, helping them as their needs may demand. A good business man once seeing the diligence of one of my hands, offered him twice as much wages as I was paying him for his ser- vices, but it was no inducement. Once in a great while a good hand will quit without cause. The secret of success lies in the proper handling of labor. four beekeepers, one of whom, Mr Walther, is an amateur photographer, and to him we are indebted for many photos of apiaries, some of which we have already given and others which are yet to appear. Two ladies came along, daughters of Mr. Ruffy. At the second station we landed and had but a couple hundred yards to go to find the finest and most carefully kept api- ary I had ever seen. Everythini; was in " apple-pie order." The owner, Mr. Mahon, an old bachelor, is a genius. We reproduce a cut of his feeder which is somewhat on the principle of the Miller feeder, with a section in the rear into which the feed is poured without disturbing the bees. Feeders are great- ly used in Switzerl nd, because there is Notes From ^ Ab r oad Bv C. P Dadant. On Aug. 18, we took the train for Delemont, accompanied by our kind friend. Mr. Gubler. We were to visit two of the most practical beekeepers in the country. Mr. Rufify, of Delemont, an active man, has had long experience with many races. His preference is for a mixture of Carniolans and Italians. He was for years employed in queen- breeding apiaries of Italian Switzer- land. He imports his Italians from there, buying small swarms shipped with three or four caged queens in each. It is but a few hours' journey from there, and no losses are to be feared. It was he who gave me a clue to the cause of the preference of the Swiss for their bees over the Italian. I saw, from his explanation that, for the cool hill lands, the Italians breed too early and too late in the season, and fly too early and too late in the day. Ruffy does his winter feeding much earlier than any one I ever heard of. His bees had already been fed for win- ter, at that date. They have no fall crop, and there was no expectation of any further harvest. The crop had been poor. Early in the afternoon, we took the train again, accompanied by three or One ok the Wartman Apiaries at Bienne. Filling the Mahon Feeder. such a long fall season without har- vest. The Swiss, like our Canadian neighbors, believe in feeding heavily for winter. I spoke of the neatness of Mr. Ma- hon's apiary. He took first prize for the best kept apiary in Western Switz- land in 1'.I02. His honey room is on the second floor of his home. The only thing I could criticize about it was its remoteness from the apiary. But I have never seen so neat an establish- ment anywhere, except at Mr. Penna's, at Bologna, Italy. But that is another story, and I must not spoil it by telling a part of it out of its turn. Mr. Mahon condemns the Carnio- lans because of their swarming pro- pensity. His bees are hybrids of Ital- ians and Swiss common bees. They behaved finely, while we had our pic- tures taken in front of the hives (see cut). In regard to diseases, he ex- pressed the opinion that the greater or less vitality of the queen has to do with the existence of both May diseases, which we call here paralysis, and foul- brood. On our return to the station, we were introduced to the station agent who smilingly pointed to half a dozen hives of bees in a little shed a few yards away. It appears that a number of Swiss station agents are beekeepers. July, 1914. American l^ee Journal Our next trip from Boudry, the fol- lowing day, took us to Peseux, a sub- urb of Neuchatel, at the apiary of Mr. Bonhote, mentioned already in the Oc- tober number. His family castle is a building typical of the Fifteenth Century, remodeled for modern usage, with hot-water heating, bath room, etc. He has both out-of-door and indoor apiaries, and prefers the latter, of which we give a view. Since our visit he has paid us the compliment of inscribing its date upon the front wall. Ratlier a staggering blow to what little modesiy we might possess ! Mr. Bonhote is one of the few men who have succeeded in eradicating foulbrood by the method of fumigat- ing with salicylic acid, a la Bertrand. The reason why so few succeed is that it requires excessive care. Perhaps also there is new vigor imparted to the swarm by the McEvoy method, as claimed by Dr. Carton. Another api- arist, Mr. Chausse,'who is the local bee inspector, assured me that in his prac- tice the only positive method was to transfer the bees, burn the brood and render the combs into wax. This same party, questioned about the May dis- ease, ventured the suggestion that it is caused by the honey from dandelion. But the May disease exists in countries where the dandelion does not appear. ■ We have had it previous to the bloom- ing of this plant. There are countries where the bees harvest a surplus of very bitter honey from dandelion, and there does not seem to be any extra amount of May disease there. After bidding adieu to our old friend, Mr. Gubler, we went to Bern, passing through Bienne (Biel) where we visited for a few hours, met half a dozen bee- keepers, saw some apiaries and visited the " Lacustrine Museum " under the guidance of Mr. Wartniann, a local apiarist. The wonders of this museum, which have been gathered from the bottom of the Swiss lakes, belong to the era of the " Lake Dwellers," in pre- historic times. The outlet of the lakes of Bienne and Neuchatel was deepened so as to lower the level of those lakes some 8 or 10 feet. This permitted the discovery, at the bottom of the lakes, of tools of the stone, bronze and iron ages, and of canoes dug out of trees by the lake dwellers, which are gathered in the Bienne Museum. We were also much interested by the sight of the old city fortifications which have been changed into dwellings by piercing windows in the walls. From Bienne we reached Bern late in the afternoon, and were met at the big station by Mr. Leuenberger, the editor of the Schweizerische Bienen- Zeitung, who readily recognized us in a crowd of tourists, though we had never met. We were very sorry to have only the evening and a small part of the forenoon at Bern, for we had wanted to visit some apiaries and call upon Dr. Burri, the noted bacteriolo- gist. We had miscalculated our time and had to leave for Zug. Our itiner- ary, made beforehand, compelled us to go on. We were informed that the Swiss Bee Journal, above mentioned, has a circu- lation of 907.5 among the beekeepers of German Switzerland. We will give more information concerning their powerful association when we get to Zurich, the home of its president. Before starting away, the next morn- ing, we made a hurried visit to the Capitol, the Museum, the high bridges which unite the two shores of the Aare in the city, and the bears after which the city is named. We also saw the monument, erected some 15 years ago, to celebrate the L'niversal Postal Union. It is in one of the parks and represents five women— the five continents — hand- ing mail to each otheraround the globe. Our young men, who have been born since the organization of this Union, the seat of which is at Bern, do not realize what it has meant for the growth of international relations. It may be sufficient to tell them that, be- fore the Union existed, or previous to 1874, the rates on letters between the United States and most countries of Europe varied between 15 and 64 cents per half ounce. A reform which we are going to need and to which our attention was first called when in Bern, is the placing of telegraph, telephone and electric-power wires under ground instead of on poles. They told us that our system of poles throughout American cities is laughed at. But a still greater Ameri- can nuisance is the smoke. None of that in Switzerland. We could travel day after day without having to suffer from cinders, smoke, and the dirt they cause. Coal slake, there, is made into bricks of which we saw piles at every station. Slake is one of the main causes of smoke. But in the shape of bricks it burns like hard coal. I believe that they also educate their firemen to a judicious use of fuel, while any man who can handle a shovel is acceptable for an American fireman. In a previous letter I spoke of the dog nuisance. In Bern and in several other places, we saw the dogs at work. House Ahiarv of Mr. E. Bonhote in Switzerland. 236 Jiiiy, 1914. American l^ee Journal Large St. Bernard dogs are hitched to small wagons and help deliver produce or goods. The dog faithfully waits at the curb while his master is handing a package or a quart of milk to the housekeeper. Zug, Mettmenstetten and Zurich were our next stopping places. M. Mahon at Courfaivre examining his bees. First prize for best liept apiary in 1002. Contributed Articles-- The Odor of Foul Brood BY E. (J. I ARR, .'l/'hifi ///i/'i-i lor lor Xnv Jersey. THE disagreement of those undoubt- edly well acquainted with both American and European f oulbrood regarding the odor from colonies af- fected with either of these diseases has been the source of much surprise, and no little difficulty has been experienced by those attempting to differentiate the two diseases by the odor symptom alone, or relying on this as the deter- mining factor. The odor of American foulbrood is usually described as being like that from poor glue when heated, and is very pronounced ; that is, it is more noticeable than the odor from luiro- pean foulbrood, while the latter is de- scribed as a sour smell, and in some cases scarcely noticeable. One having his first experience with foulbrood is often unable to make the description fit the case. There are two explanations for this seeming disagreement. The first is that possibly the organisms causing decay may differ with the locality and under different climatic conditions, so that in some cases the gases given off are more abundant, thus giving more odor. The second is that samples de- scribed may have been examined in the apiary in the one case and in the laboratory in the other; or, in other words, one sample was fresher than the other. Two seasons' work in New Jersey, giving opportunity to examine plenty of both forms of the disease has shown that, in this State at least, the odor from European foulbrood when examined in the apiary is much more pronounced than that from the American form; in a great number of cases it being only necessary to lift the hive cover to de- tect the presence of disease, and in many cases the odor was very notice- able at a distance of several feet from the affected colony. Samples of this form of foulbrood, when taken from the hive, have rapidly lost a large part of the odor. No case of American foulbrood examined by the writer has given such a strong or disagreeable odor as the luiropean, when comparing colonies of about the same degree of infection, and no case of American has been found where the odor was noticeable a few feet from the hive. On the other hand, samples of the American form when taken from tlie hive have for a certain length of time increased in odor. Since there exists this seeming dis- agreement, it is best that the odor symptom be not relied upon as a sole determining factor in differentiating these two diseases. Fortunately there is a system which is fairly constant, and upon which it seems safe to rely. This is the position of the dead larvre in the cells. A study of the cuts in Farmers' Bulletin No. 442, shows that a majority if not all of the dead larvs of American foulbrood lie onthe lower cell wall while those of the European are found in every conceivable position in the cells. This symptom the writer has found reliable in practically all of the 8t)7 infected colonies found in two seasons' inspection work in New Jersey. New Egypt, N. Y. -^^^m- Colony Odor BY BYRON S. HASTINGS. ON page 168 of the American Bee Journal for May, Mr. Arthur C. Miller says some things that I don't agree with. He says: "I admit that each colony may have its individ- ual odor, but I deny that a bee after a long foraging trip will retain enough of it to affect her reception by an alien colony. On the contrary, every (?) observation indicates that it is wholly the individual bee's beliavior which governs her reception. "Here are some facts which go far to disprove the theory of the individual odor affecting a bee's reception. A worker returning laden from the field may enter anywhere." (?) " Queenless bees will join a near-by colony with a queen, and no sign can we see that the receiving colony no- tices them as strangers." (?) (Ques- tion marks are my own.) I have seen laden workers alight on the alighting-board and start into the hive just the same as any of the rest of the workers. But the guards would stop them, take their load of nectar and kill them without much resistance on the part of the strange bees, if strange they were. A few times I have seen bees loaded with pollen alight on the alighting- board of a hive and start to enter and then leave and enter another hive. Why? I have my queens' wings clipped. When the bees swarm, in returning, many try to enter adjoining hives and are killed. The bees are heavily laden with honey. Why are they not ac- cepted if a laden bee may enter any- where ? Last spring (1913) I had a queenless colony. The hives were arranged like this: No. 1 was weak, but had a queen. No. 3 was strong, but queenless. I had requeened No. 3 the year before, and the bees were much yellower than the rest of my bees. During a cool spell I set No. 3 on No. 1 with paper between. I took everything away from where No. 3 had been. The first warm day some of the bees, probably about 10 percent, came in loaded with pollen and nectar and made 2 or 3 circles, and landed at No. 4. Did No. 4 accept them ? Well, if you could have seen the murdering going on there — that is all that one could call it, for the strangers were loaded too much, and were too tired to offer any resistance — you would not say that a laden worker could enter aiiyu'/ifie .' Of course, I will adniit that bees in an apiary mix; but I think the most of it is done by the young .Inly. i;»14. American Hee Jonrnal bees during their play spell, the first flight. At one time I had a colony of black bees and one of Italians in the same pair of hives. One day they had their play spoil at the same time, and after it was over you could not tell which had the black queen and which the Italian by the looks of the workers in the hives. From my observations it is my opinion that there is a colony odor, and tliat it has a great deal to do with whether a bee is accepted or re- jected, at times anyway. Brookville, Ind. IVery few people doubt the colony odor and its recognition by the bees. — EuiTOR. 1 Foulbrood Insurance in German Switzerland BY H. SPUHLER. AS in almost every other country, German Switzerland suffered for years from foulbrood, and all the efforts' of the apiarists were useless. They finally decided that in order to obtain satisfactory results, it would be necessary to act in a methodical man- ner. With this purpose in view, a foul- brood insurance was devised and made obligatory for all the members of the German Swiss Association of Bee- keepers. It is organized as follows: As head of the insuring department is a chief selected by the association, who is also a member of the Central Committee. He has the duty of in- structing and superintending the in- spectors of the cantons, who meet once a year. They are appointed and remunerated by the government. They direct and control the treatment of colonies. They are helped in their work by delegates whose duty is also to respond to the call of beekeepers who suspect the existence of foulbrood in their apiaries. If the disease proves to be present, the inspector is notified and a careful examination of all the colonies is made. A comb of the dis- eased brood is forwarded to the Fed- eral laboratory in Berne, to ascertain the class of disease to which it belongs. They recognize three forms of dis- ease, stinking and non-stinking foul- brood and pickled brood. They are all treated in the same manner. After treatment, the owner is indemnified up to three-fourths of the estimated loss. He must bear one-fourth of the loss himself. In case he has used decep- tion, the indemnity may be reduced or even entirely cut off. In any case, the inspector writes a statement and for- wards it to the chief of insurance. The maximum of value of a colony is $8.00, and the combs that are melted up and the colonies that are united are paid at 7.') percent of their estimated value. They treat the colonies at the time when the bees are all in the hive. The bees are shaken into a specially made box and put in a cool place where they are kept three days. They are fed and placed into a new hive or in their dis- infected hive, with sheets of comb foundation. In cases where the de- struction of the colony is advisable, the bees and combs are burnt up or buried at least 20 inches underground. The honey is extracted if there is any, but it is not permitted to be sold. The apiarist must destroy it or con- sume it himself. The wax is not per- mitted to be used for making comb foundation. The frames may be saved provided they are boiled enough to be disinfected. The hives are purified with a solution of soda, or corrosive sublimate (mercury chloride), or quick- lime, or by heat. Tools, clothing, e'c, are thoroughly disinfected. The owner of the apiary is not pei;mitted to either sell or buy bees during the same year. The success of this method is shown by the following table ; ; it as quickly as possible to prevent the bees from filling up on the diseased honey they may have deposited in the comb. If no honey is coming in, we feed. In disinfecting a hive I paint it with kerosene inside and on the edges, and the hive-bodies I pile one on top of the other five high. Then I spray a little kerosene into the pile and light a piece of paper and drop it in. The result is an instant blaze. I have a pail of water and a dipper at hand, and after the inside of the bodies have charred sufticiently, which occurs in a minute or two, I dash a dipper of water in and the steam puts the fire out on the in- stant. When I first began to burn out Foulbrood Colonies Expenses Indemnity Per Near Members Colonies apiaries diseased francs francs colony igoa 7035 «8.7Jt Il8 Ml 7.500 5.581 1(1,00 1012 8740 115.206 III 282 4.100 2,7*8 'J.80 This shows that, in spite of the great increase in the membership, the num- ber of diseased apiaries and colonies has much diminished. The cases have also been less dangerous, for the in- demnity has been reduced over 'id. Our beekeepers have faith in this in- surance, knowing that with its help the disease will soon be vanquished after it appears. They watch their colonies with more care, and therefore discover the disease sooner. They gladly pay the small tax of one cent (.5 centimes) per colony, which not only protects their unlucky brothers, but helps to protect their own apiaries. Zurich, Switzerland. American Foulbrood— Disin- fecting Hives and Frames BY JOHN T. GREENE. IN the March issue of the American Bee Journal a picture of Mr. Oliver B. Finn, of Silt, Colo., is shown in the act of disinfecting a hive-body with a blow torch. This method of disin- fecting is so primitive, and there is one so much better and quicker that I will give it ; not that I am the originator of the method, but because I am using it with great success and also saving time. I have, during the past four years, had occasion to disinfect hundreds of hives and hive-bodies because of the prevalence of both European and American foulbrood. When treating ICuropean foulbrood I no longer shake the bees or disinfect the hives. I simply requeen with un- tested Italian queens, and if a colony is weak I give it a comb or two of capped brood with the adhering young bees. This does the business, and after a few weeks the disease has disappeared from the hive. But in the treatment of American foulbrood the utmost care is used, and the hives and supers are burned out after the bees are shaken. I shake the first time into a hive where there are three or four empty frames and one dry comb. If there is no honey flow, we shake in the evening, and next evening shake again onto full sheets, beginning with the comb and shaking hives, I made the mistake of thinking I could smother the fire with a hive cover or blanket, but at my first at- tempt I succeeded in getting a close shave and a partial hair-cut, and just saved myself from inhaling the flame. I save the best of the frames, taken from the diseased colonies, after they have been boiled to remove the wax, and pile them up in the cellar of the shop where we try-out the wax. When a thousand or two have accumulated, we clean out the cooker and the Her- shiser wax press and fill them with clean water, and when the water begins to boil I put in a can of concentrated lye and several pounds of washing soda, and I am ready for the frames. The cooker is filled with frames. They are boiled 10 minutes, then removed one by one with a stove poker, so as to save our hands, and are dipped into the water in the wax press. After be- ing exposed to the air for several days they are rewired and used. My purpose is not merely to keep the disease down, but to eliminate it. Interlaken, N. Y. Canadian Beekeepers— "George R. Chapman " BY CH.\S. E. HOPPER. EVERY little while I receive a letter which runs something like this: " I see by the daily paper that your association is having splendid meet- ings. I am the secretary of the local association here, and since we can scarcely get our members out to a meeting, I am writing you to learn how you do it. Our members are mostly drones," etc. In reply I shall try to tell how we proceed to have a " full house " at every meeting. Just three things are needed to make an association a success. First, a first-class president. Second, a real live executive, and last, but by no means least, good papers and dis- cussions. The Toronto Beekeepers' Associa- tion is singularly fortunate in having at its head a man who is not only an enthusiastic beekeeper, a thorough student and a close observer, but a good executive ofiicer. He is our pub- 23S July, 1914. American IB^e Journal licity man, and is able to get the ear of the daily press as no one else in our association can. In consequence, we get good write- ups, and the public knows something about us, while the beekeeper becomes curious and finally joins, which is just what the society wants. No matter how good a man you may have for the presi lent's chair, unless he has good, loyal, and enthusi- astic junior officers he can do but little. Too often this important department of organization is filled by persons totally unfit for such positions. Our society has in the past kept the secretary " on the jump," keeping up with its plans, projects, etc. Then the papers, discussions, etc., are an impor- tant department of the work of the executive. If a program is poorly " made up," some members will not at- tend. Their absence gives an impres- sion of dissatisfaction, and soon the feeling spreads that the society is going down, and from then on it surely will go down. So make your subjects as in- teresting and inviting as possible. Get good men ; men who are up in beedom to be present and discuss subjects. This will bring a full house every time. .Idi'erlise. Spread it abroad that you are having a meeting, and tell who is going to be there, and what the bill of fare is. Third. Good papers lead to good dis- cussions. If you assign a subject to some person, be sure he can entertain as well as "talk bees." Then there are numerous topics to handle. In five minutes our e,xecutive proposed enough subjects for two weeks' sessions, morn- ing and afternoon, as well as evening. And, finally, make your announce- ments early. A short notice of a meet ing means few members. Give them at least 10 days' time. Don't forget, Mr. Secretary, when you write to that long absent member, give him a nice little "josh." It helps, oh! wonder- fully. Paint for him a picture that will make him wish the meeting were right away. When he comes, give liim some- thing to do, or he may not return so eagerly ne.xt time. I enclose a photograph of the man who has done more for the Toronto Beekeepers' Association than any other person in it. He is /Tcsidtiil. Toronto, Ont. Two Essentials in Honey-Pro- duction BY DR. E. F. PHILLIPS. U'.xlraits I rum an address read at the Xcw Jcrscv iiinTi'tifuu/.] N the American Bee Journal for De- cember, 1013 {page 405 407), Miss I''mma M. Wilson reports on the work and results of the season of IDIH in the apiary of Dr. C. C. Miller, in which she is a most efficient helper. Briefly the results are as follows : From 7'J colonies, spring count, the average crop was 26().47 sections. One colony produced 402 sections, while only 10 colonies produced less than 200. Doctor Miller's previous high record was iiilO sections, but 2(1 colo- nies surpassed this, l.'i producing be- tween ;J00 and -ifiO, while the last PED " honey is one of the incentives to produce swarming. As soon as the honey flow decreases, all colonies receive their feeder, and it is essential that we do not wait too long. The object is to get the bees well ac- quainted wifh them and accustomed to continue section work from this source before the flow ceases. About this time, toward the end of the flow, no more new supers are given, but instead tlie supers with those stored, unfin- ished sections are snbstituted. With all the forces confined to two supers, and all the feed they can carry away they finish (cap) a super in a remark- ably short time, and this at a period when bees under ordinary management would be idle, not earning one cent for their owner. The capping at this ad- vanced time of the year does not seem to induce swarming. Although nine- tenths of all my honey was capped in this way, I had not a single, normal swarm the past season. Producing the feeding stock, which the foregoing management requires' 242 July, 1914. American Vee Journal Sections in the four stages— Photograph by G. C. Greiner must be governed by the kind of honey that is chosen as a specialty. If comb honey is the objectexcktsively, we need a very few colonies only to pmduce the necessary quantity of feeding honey. To decide the exact propor- tionate number of the yard for this purpose is more or less guess work, it depends very much, like many other leatures, on the season, but mainly on the alertness of the beekeeper. These colonies need only one super, but the combs must be extracted as fast as they are filled. The honey, call it "nectar" if you will, taken in this way, is just the thing for beesto work over and use for capping. Being very thin and pliable it makes bees believe they are gather- ing natural stores from the field. As I produce mainly extracted honey, I have not practiced the wholesale pro- duction of this article. My supply was taken from a few combs of each super, the larger part of the combs being allowed to be ripened and capped. In the foregoing I have tried to cover the main points of my method. It remains now to say a few words in regard to the appliances I use. My whole management, from the first ex- amination in the spring to the last feeding and preparing for winter, makes three features of my outfit obli- gatory, if rapid work, ease and enjoy- ment is our aim. First.— Loose-hanging brood- frames. It is the greatest mystery to me that beekeepers will be hampered by any of the various self-spacing devices. Many times, when making demonstrations in my yard, I have heard such expressions as: "I wish I had your frames. What would you do if you had the Hoffman frame ?" I simply explain : I would not have them. I admit that self-spac- ing frames offer some advantages over the loose-hanging kind, but their in- conveniences impose a tenfold hin- dr nee upon the beekeeper. Second.— Broad-frames for section- holders. It is almost useless to say anything in their favor. Their advan- tages over nearly all other section- holding rigs are so apparent that see- ing them manipulated convinces any person of their practicability. Chang- ing sections back and forth from one hive to another would be a tedious job with the T super, or any other of simi- lar construction, while the exchanging of broad-frames is like turning the leaves of a book, extremely easy and simple, after the super springs have been removed. Third. — A serviceable bee feeder. With a few added improvements of my own the Miller feeder, made of wood, fills the bill exactly. The leaking fea- ture of a wooden feeder, of which we hear frequent complaints, can be over- come by proper treatment. My feeders are stored under the roof on the upper floor of my honey house, where the heat during the warm spring days is almost unbearable. They season and shrink to such a state that water would run out as fast as it is turned in. When I am ready to use them I take one after another on my bench and give each nail a light tap with the round face of a little riveting hammer. Then I place them in rows on the lawn close to the honey house, and give them a thorough washing with the garden hose. That cleans out all the old remnants of granulated honey from last year's use, and by keeping them filled with water for an hour or two, half a day if neces- sary, I have no more trouble with leaky bee feeders for the season. The use of paraffin, or painting them, stops the leaks for the time being, but it is not a permanent remedy. After they shrink again, they leak as before, and the operation has to be repeated the same as my washing process. La Salle, N. Y. Dr. Miller*s Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C Miller. Marengo. III. He does not answer bee-keepine Questions by mail. Finding the Queen MakingRoom— Whal is Good for Feeding and Brood-Rearing ? 1. I opened two of my hives the other day to lind the queens and clip their wings, but I couldn't lind them. If there are certain methods 1 would like to know wliat they are. How would it do to place a swarm guard over the entrance, then transfer the bees, frames and all to another hive-body; shake or brush the l)ees from tht-ir combs in front of the hive with guard, then placing each frame liack in its proper place after the bees are brushed off so that ihey can cluster on them again as soon as they get through the guartl ? J. Here is my plan to get honey, but I have never put it into practice yet: Give each colony supers as needed until they are ready to swarm or show signs of swarming. Then find the queen and place her on a frame of brood. Put this frame of brood in an empty hive, tilling out with frames of foundation orcomb. On this put a iiueen-excluder and then the supers, placing the hive-body on top of the supers. How would it do to put a ripe cell in the bottom brood ciiamber on the frame of brood instead of the old queen, then cage the old queen in the top of the hive so that if the young queen is lost or fails to hatch, the old one can be liberated again? 3. In taking a ripe cell from one hive and putting it in another where there is no July, 1914. American Hee Journal queen, is it necessary to protect it in any way ? 4. Do yon think soft sugar is as good to stimulate l^rood rearing as syrup ? Is it as good for winter stores ? Is soft brown sugar all right for bees ? Tennessek Answers.— I. There is no special trick in finding queens. Just lake out one frame after another and look carefully, first on the side opposite you. then on the side nearest. If you are gentle about It. and don't get the bees stirred up with too much jarring or smoke, you will generally spot her the first time looking the frames over. If you don't get her after looking the frames over two or three times, you may as well close the hive until an hour or more later, or until another day, for sometimes a queen hides in some mysterious way and cannot be found, and then the next time you open the hive she may be found on the first frame taken out If, however, for some reason it is very important that you get her at once, then the plan you suggest will work all right. 2. I don't know for certain, but I think it might work all right, provided your supers contain extractingcombs. If they contain sections, the sections may become badly darkened with old brood-combs above them. I hardly think you need cage the old queen in the upper story, but may leave her at liberty. 3. No, unless the colony has lost its queen only 12 hours or so previously, and is not yet conscious of its queenlessness. 4. I don't know; but I should think there would be littledifference betweensoftsugar and syrup. But neither of them is as good as honey for brood-rearing. Brown sugar is good for bees at any time when they are flying, if they will take it; but syrup of granulated sugar is better for winter. Freezing Honey Difference in Wintering Italian and Black Bees in Russia 1. It is a custom here in Russia to keep and sell honey in wooden tubs without any covers. Usually it granulates in October or November. It is kept all winter in buildings without stoves, where the temperature is under freezing-point. Does freezing injure (he honey? Last summer I had very good honey. 1 took some of it. when extracting, to the house for family use. It was thick, ripe honey, which granulated hard. We ate it until Christmas, then I took some more from one of the wooden tubs in the cold building. We were much astonished to find it quite soft, and when left for some time in the warm room it nearly became liquid, and was not to be compared with the honey I took when extracting. What injured it i" 2 .■\re Italian bees more difficult for win- tering than black bees? I have one colony of Italians. In the middle of winter they began to roar in the bee-house, so much that I was obliged to take it out in the snow. The black bees, of which I have 125 colonies, are quite still now. Russia. Ansvvers.-i. Freezing does not in any way injure granulated honey. It hastens the granulation of liquid honey, and may crack the combs of comb honey The difference in the behavior of your early and later honey may have been due to being gathered from different flowers. There is a great difference in that respect; honey fromsome plants granulates almost as soon as it is stored in the hive, and from others it scarcely granulates at all. 2. In this country there is considered to be little or no difference between blacks and Italians as to wintering. There may have been some special reason for the poor wintering of that one colony, and it is also possible that your blacks are used to the severe climate while the Italians are not yet acclimated. Hiving Swarms One of my colonies of Italian bees, on May », threw off a nice, strongswarm. and follow- ing advice given in a recent number of the American Bee Journal, I placed the swarm on the old stand, and the old colony close beside it. to be moved on the tenth day to a new location, 10 feet or more away. But on the seventh day it threw off a second swarm. What would you do when they act like that? Virginia. Answer.— 1 wonder if you haven't by any chance got things a little mixed. Ten days is the time given quite often for overhauling colonies to look for queen-cells, but about a week has been given a number of times as the time to move the old colony to prevent a second swarm. It is counted that the prime swarm issues about the time the first cell is sealed. Then seven or eight days after the cell is sealed the virgin emerges, and is ready to go with a swarm the next day. If, now, the old hive, which was set close be- side the swarm at the time the latter was hived, be moved to a new location a week after the prime swarm issued, all the field bees will desert the old colony, joining the swarm, and the old colony being thus de- pleted, with honey coming in. will give up all further swarming, allowing the first virgin to kill all the others. Sometimes, however, it happens that at the time the first cell is sealed the weather IS too bad for a swarm to issue, and it issues a day or more later. That shortens the in- terval between the two swarms. That's what happened in your case, making the second swarm issue the seventh day. To guard against such exceptional cases (and there may be exceptions even without re- gard to weather) theold hive might be moved the sixth, or even the fifth day; yet the sooner the hive is moved the less certain it is to be entirely effective. You ask what to do in a case when a sec- ond swarm actually issues. Hive it, set it closebeside the hive from which it issued, or else down cellar, and next day return it to the hive from which it issued. That will probably end the matter, for by that time no more live virgins will be left in cells, but occasionally it might happen that a swarm would again issue, in which case it should be again returned. Swarms Work Better than Old Colonies— To Make Room 1. What is the matter with my bees' I have 16 old colonies. Four or five of them started to work early in the season on wild flowers. I took off 23 pounds of comb honey from one hive the last of March. Now they are not storing a pound of honey, and will not work in the supers. On the other hand three swarms that I hived in February are working in the supers, and one has u pounds of sealed comb honey and the other has 17 pounds. Why do they work better than the old colonies? Is it the queens ? 2. Would bees bemorelikely tomake more honey by adding supers all the time or by taking out the one-pound sections each '"Tie? California. Answers. -I. It is a common thing for a swarm to do better work at storing than the mother colony. The latter is greatly de- pleted by the swarm leaving, and has a lot of brood to feed, while the swarm has most of the field bees and no brood to feed. 2 They will store as much one way as the other, provided they have all the room they need. Bees Beginning to hang OfT-THEv Should Be Given More Room By Re.moving THE Entrance Block Entikelv. Shake Swarming— Redwood Hivei 1. Last year I had a lot of trouble with runaway swarms. Can you tell me how to practice "shake swarming?" 2. I put two primeswarms of bees in a new redwood 8-frame hive. The bees imme- diately left for parts unknown within a few hours. Can you tell me if the smell of a red- wood hive is offensive to the bees ' Nebraska. Answers.— I. Lift the combs out of the hive, one after another, and shake the bees back into the hive, filling up the hive with empty combs, and when vou have done that you have shaken a swarm. Of course you must be sure that the queen is left in the hive from which the brood has been taken. To hold the swarm in the hive it is well to leave one frame with at least a little brood. Some think it best to take this frame away after two or three days. You can make any disposition you like of the frames of brood taken away. They may be used tostrengthen weak colonies, or you can use them to make 244 July, 1914. American Hee Journal new colonies. If useii in tlie latter way enouph bees must be left with lliem so the brood will not be chilled, unless you live where it is so hot that there is no danger of chilling. The more bees, however, you can leave with the swarm, the better work it will do on surplus. 2. I have never heard of trouble about swarms staying in hives of redwood. It is possible, however, that a rank smell of new wood, even pine, might be unpleasant to bees. It is more likely, however, that the bees left the hive on account of heat. Kor at least two or three days extra care should be taken to keep the hive cool and well ven- tilated. The cover can be left partly off. the hive raised, and if not in the shade some kind of protection should be given against the sun. One way is to pile an armful of long grass or hay on top of the hive, anchor- ing it there with a stick or two of stovewood. Do Red and Alsike Clover Yield Pollen ? Does red or alsike clover bear pollen, or is it an excessof nectar that blights the seed when the bees do not gather it ? Idaho. Answer.— Red and alsike clover yield both nectar and pollen; but hive-bees do not often work on red clover. An excess of nectar would do no harm; but if the clovers are not visited by insects, especially bees, there will be little or no fertilization, and so no seed. Red clover is mainly dependent on bumblebees for fertilization. What Becomes ol Old Queen In a Swarm?— The Old Reliable About May i, in the height of fruit bloom, my neighbor's bees swarmed, but as his ciueen was clipped they returned to the hive. On May 5. b. 7. and 8 the weather was cold, cloudy and wet. but on the vth the weather was tine, and the bees swarmed again and again returned to the hive. It was an 8- franie dovetailed hive, and just as full as it could be of bees, brood and honey. I looked tnrousih the hive very carefully lor the old clipped Queen. but could not hnd her. I found, however, six capped queen-cells and one cell which had been very recently vacated by a virgin. Owing to the congested condition of the hive I could find neither the old queen nor the virgin X'liinking that perhaps the old queen had crawled away and had been lost from the swarm that morning, and that the virgin had come out of the cell immediately after the swarm, as the bees had probably been hold.- ing her for three or four days on account of bad weather, I cut out all queen cells but one, so as to be sure not to leave them aueenless. and at the same time gave them more room, putting on a deep super with full sheets of foundation. 1. Do you think the old queen crawled away and was lost ? Do they ever find their way back to the hive ? 2 Did I do right in leaving one queen-cell in the hive? What will happen when that queen-cell hatches ? Is there any danger of after-swarming ? Fruit bloom is now over. 3. Do you know of any better avocation than beekeeping for one who has about io6 degrees of bee-fever ? 4. Do you know of any better bee-paper than the "old reliable " American Bee Jour- nal ? Indiana. Answers.— I. The rule is that when a clipped queen issues with a swarm she finds her way back to the hive. Yet exceptions are unpleasantly numerous. The queen may crawl away and be lost, but is more likely to enter the wrong hive and be killed. In your case, however, it is not unlikely that theaueen was court inartialed by her own bees. 2. .Since you desired noswarming, it would have been better to have killed ii// cells. The fact that you didn't find the virgin was no proof that she was not there. .She was probably dodging around corners laughing at you. Kven a veteran sometimes fails to tind a virgin. "What will happen when that uueen-cell hatches.'" Nothing unusual. She will simply assume her duties as reigning monarch. But something will happen—no doubt did happen— before the emergence from tliat cell. For it's almost a certainty that a day or so after you cut the cells the free virgin issued with a swarm, and then the other virgin emerged from her cell where she had been held captive by the workers until her rival was out of the way. 3. No: unless it be to make it a vocation. 4. Do you mean the American Bee Journal of the present day ? Judging by the past I should say it is not so good as the American Bee Journal of the future, for it has kept improving in the past, and that improve- ment is likely to continue. Now. don't ask me in what respect it will improve. I don't know. Best Place for Colonies^Cause of Swarms Re- turning to Old Hive 1. Where is the best place to put colonies in the spring when the honey crop is open- ing, under the roof, under a shady tree, or out in the hot sun ? 2 I had a colony that swarmed twice. I put them in an upto date hive, but each lime they went back to the old hive. What was the cause ? Te.\as. Answers.— I. Under a tree is fine for both bees and beekeeper. 2. The likelihood is that the queen did not go with them, because of some defect. It is also possible that the old queen had been lost, and a young one reared, and that she went out on her wedding journey, the bees swarming out with her and then returning. How to Tell Pure Honey In the May number, in "Questions and Answers." is the question. " How do you tell whether honey is pure?' That is what I would like to know. Minnesota. Answer.— I don't know of anything to add to the answer to which you refer, unless it be to send a sample to an expert chemist to decide. Where is Queen in a Cluster ? Swarm Controlling — Kind ol Hives 1. When bees swarm and cluster may the queen be found on the outside of the clus- ter, or do the workerscover her upentirely? 2, What is the best method to control swarming, when bees are run for comb honey ? 3.: Are single-walled hives suitable for this climate? Michigan. Answers.— The queen may be on the outer part of the swarm, in the center, or in any part of it, 2, I don't know. I wish I did. You'll find several pages in my book. "Fifty Years Among the Bees," telling the different things I do to try to keep the bees from swarming, but too often they beat me. One way you can do is to shake a swarm. That, however, is about the same as swarming, and so is some- times called anticipatory swarming. If you can give the colony a ycung laying queen about the time swarming begins, the bees having been queenless about todays before receiving this queen, you may be practically certain there will be no swarming until an- other year. 3, Sure. Finding Queen Requeening — Dividing — Feeder — Uniting 1. What is the best metliotl of finding the queen, with a queen and drone-trap, or where can 1 tind her on the brood nest ? I have looked nn the frames, but I have never seen the tuieen, 2. What time is the best to reqiieen my colonies with Italian queens ? 3. When forming a single or twin nucleus which is best to use. a ripe queen-cell or a virgin queen ? 4. Which stock is best to order, the " 3- bandor 5-band ?" 5- Give me some information on the terms breeder, untested and tested 6, When makinga division is it best to con- fine the bees, how long, the best time, and how strong should they be when divided ? 7, What is the best feeder to use for any amount of feed ' 8, My bees are strong, but they will not work in the supers; they want to store honey in the brood-nests, I use the Hoffman extracting frames. Are they better and cheaper than the sections ? I can sell chunk honey here as well as the sections. •I. What is the best way to put in full sheets of foundation ? 10. How can I keep worms out of comb ? 11. I took off some honey that seemed to be ripe, and it candied. 12. Is it a good investment to buy a swarm of only half strength for a dollar and put two swarms together and let the queens fight it out ? 13. When hiving two swarms should I sprinkle or smoke them to make them go in the entrance? Kentucky. Answers.— I. This spring my assistant found each queen in my apiary, and didn't count it much of a job She is an expert at finding queens, but I don't think she has any rule about it unless it be to use as little smoke'as possible. More than once I have heard her say to a cross colony, " Now you'l 1 catch ill" and 1 knew by that she had just found the queen, and was giving a good blast of smoke, which she had refrained from giving until the queen was found. It is pos- sible you have failed to find your queens be- cause you gave so ranch smoke as to start the bees to running, and when that takes place it is good-by to finding a queen. You can use a trap, as you suggest, but if you ex- pect to do much in the way of finding queens, you had better patiently continue to look over the frames that have brood in tnem until you become proficient. After you have looked the brood over two or three times, you may as well give it up until an hour or more later, or until another day. After a certain time of looking the queen seems to hide, and I never yet could learn the secret of her hiding. Since the foregoing was written Miss Wilson has suggested that it is important to handle the frames as gently as possible, so as to give no jar whatever to hive or frames. 2. That depends. If you want to introduce a new queen so as to rear young queens from her, and want those queens as soon as possible, then you better get her as soon as possible. But it is still better to get her in advance for use the following season, get' ting her in July or later. Queens reared then are likely to be of the best, and you can buy cheaper than very early. If yon want to requeen your whole apiary by buy- ing queens for each colony, then you better wait until the harvest is well along, or to- ward its close. 3. There is little to choose. If a cell is given, the young queen is more sure of kind treatment than when a virgin is introduced. On the other hand, it sometimes happens that the virgin in the cell has imperfect wings, and she may even be dead, and when you give a virgin that has left her cell you know just what you are giving. 4. Some prefer those with more than three bands, but probably most prefer those which have three bands, like the pure stock that comes from Italy. ,";, A queen rearer raises a young queen from an Italian mother, and as soon as she begins to lay he sells her as an unlested iiueen. If he keeps her until her progeny emerge from their cells, and the number of bands on these young workers show that the July, I'JH. )( American Bac Joarnal younj Queen is purely mated, then she is called a tested q'leen, and he should sell her for a greater price. A breeder i> supposed to be one of the very best to breed from, and the name may mean little or much, de- penilini; upDn circumstances. (' When you liesire to have bees stay in a new place, it makes a difference as to the amcutnt of brood and bees used. If you take A single frame of brood with adhering bees from a normal colony and put it in a hive in a new place, without conHnement. the like- lihood is that the bees will desert. If you use five or six frames of brood with adher- ing bees, taking from one or from several colonic-^, it is pretty certain that enough bees will remain to lake good care of the brood. In either case, if you fasten the bees in for two or three days, they will stay put. Better have a small entrance and then close it with green grass or leaves; then if you for- get to open the entrance the bees can open it themselves when the green stuff dries. As to strength, better have two frames with adhering bees, at the very least. If you mean how strong should the divided colony be. it should have at least six frames well filled with brood. 7. If a considerable amount of feed is to be given, nothing is better than the Miller feeder. The Doolittle is excellent for smaller amounts handy for the bees, b'or an entrance feeder the Boardman is good. 8. Bees prefer to store in the brood-cham- ber so long as there is brood there, and are not likely to store in supers until after the brood-chamber is filled with brood and honey. If you can sell chunk honey as well as sections, probably you better let sections alone. 0. Kull sheets are greatly to be preferred to small starters, and you ought to use sheets so large that the foundation will be fastened at the sides, and then you should use wires or foundation splints to help. If the wedge does not hold the foundation in the groove, pjt beside it a thin layer of wood, such as a piece of wooden separator. Or. run melted wax and rosin (about equal parts: along the place of iunction. 10. There is no better place to keep comb than in the care of bees. If that is not con- venient, keep them in a cool, airy place, spacing them more than 14 inch apart. If they become wormy, treat them to a dose of carbon disulphide. After being thus treated possibly you may keep them in something' moth-tight. :i. All your honey will probably be sure to candy. If you heat it to i6o degrees and then seal it air-tight, it may not candy. 12 That ought to be an excellent invest- ment. The bees will settle the queen ques- tion, but if you lake no precaution a large part of the workers may be killed, too. Put one hive over the other, with a sheet of newspaper between them, and they will probably unite peaceably. 13. If you dump them at the entrance they will enter of their own accord, without smoke or sprinkling. Queen in Two Stories -Wintering — Toads — Robbers 1. The extracted honey producers here discourage swarming by elevating brood over the excluder. Why wouldn't it be bet- ter to allow the queen to extend her nest in this super, and after swarming danger is over insert excluder, and later see that the queen is below? 2. A successful honey producer says full sheets of foundation are drawn down to the bottom-bar :'er\ much better when placed in a sutler than in the brood-nest. Is this so ? i. A Tennessee beekeeper writes that he wintered most of his i8o colonies in 2 story hives and he never had such strong colo- nies; some had 15 brood-frames. Why wouldn't that be the best way to do every winter ? 4. What quantity of carbon disulphide should be used for a stack of eight 8 frame supers of combs, and how often should the application be made to ensure against wax worms ? 5. Do toads eat bees to a damaging extent ? 6. Are the goldens generally recognized as the worst robbers of all bee kind ? The ones I have certainly must be; however, with the miserable slow How we are having they are certainly getting much more honey than are my blacks. Kenti'cky. Answers. —I. When the brood is put above the excluder and the queen left below with- out brood, she is in much the same position as if it were a swarm in the lower story, and will not swarm. If allowed to occupy the two stories as you suggest, she is much more likely to swarm. Another thing is that by allowing her the run of the two stories you would likely have brood in the combs you want to extract, which is undesirable. 2. Sure. 3. With very strong, colonies the plan is excellent. 4. Four tablesooonfuls ought to suffice. One application is sufficient, unless fresh eggs are laid in them again by the beemoth- 5. Some cases have been reported in which quite a few bees were killed by toads. i I don't remember to have heard that charge against the goldens. I am afraid it's true very often that the best gatherers are inclined to be bad as robbers. Bees have no moral sense, and don't make any distinc- tion between getting stores from the field or from another hive; so why shouldn't the best gatherers be the best— or the worst- robbers ? Heaoijuakters of .Allen's .Ai'iarv at .-^lki ^iCER'jrE, N'ew Mexico. Transporting B2es Long Distances I write this to inform you of a transporta- tion of bees on a long voyage which migh- be interesting and useful to fellow beekeep- ers. Last year, in October. I had a friend going to your country, and I asked him if he would care to bring me a colony of Italian bees from the I'nited States when he re- turned to China in the spring. He did so. and left San Francisco on F"eb. id last. It took over 30 days to reach me here in Tientsin. The colony was hived in a lo-frame dovetailed hive, with an extra number of 8 frames full of honey, a super on top filled with 2^ empty i'i-inch square sec- tions, an "eke" under the brood-chamber, bottom-board and cover; a wire-cloth under the cover for ventilation, and another long strip on the entrance. On opening the hive, to niydismay, I found all the combs were smashed and broken from the frames, and there were no live bees in the brood-chamber, only about a handful of dead ones crushed on the combs and bottom-board. All the live bees, by no means a big number, had cleverly clustered in two emptv sections above. I at once drove them down into a new clean brood- chamber with combs audstores. I then left them alone, as the days were still cold about 40 degrees Kahr. at noon,, but I was very anxious about the queen. After a week, as the weather turned warmer. 1 looked carefullr into the brood- chamber and found Her Majesty. You can imagine I was glad beyond expectation I think I am very fortunate in this case, be- cause my friend knows nothingabout bees. That is why the combs were smashed on the voyage. He told me .that he put the colony in the coldest place on the deck of the steamer he traveled bv from San Francisco to rientsin. and while the vessel was in mid- Pacific Ocean, quite a number of the bees found a hole and fiew out. He thought they returned to the hive, but I am afraid they 24G July, 1914. American V^e Journal were lost. He afterwards stopped up the hole. Though the combs had been badly smashed, it was quite a miracle that the queen and bees were able to seek safety in the empty sections above for so lone a time: but you must remember it was winter, and the bees were not active I must thank the San Francisco beekeeper who gave my friend the colony with a super of empty sections Had there been no empty sections on too. I am afraid the bees would have been all killed. K. H. Chun. Tientsin. China. March 24. ITo transport bees long distances, it is best to fasten each comb beforehand, by nailing cleats or fastening wires on both sides of each comb. Besides, it is well not to ship new swarms that have very white and fragile combs. Colonies with combs a or 5 years old are much safer. Of course, if proper handling was secured, and the hives were not laid upon their side, placing the combs in a horizontal position, there would be very little danger. Your experience may be of use to others in similar circumstances.— Editor.] Prosp3ct3 are Good The prospects are good for honey. Fraser. Idaho. June 10. F. F. George. it in the open, and such an uproar! I gave foundation in place of these combs, and got them cleaned out for extracting, but in doing so I educated a lot of robbers and had ^ weak colonies robbed out. Louis Macev. North Platte. Neb.. May 27. No Comb Honey Yet It looks like the honey crop with me this season will be a failure. As yet I have no comb honey and only 7 gallons of extracted from 30 colonies. Bees wintered on short stores. J C. Gaklen. Memphis, Tenn., June i. Storing Some Surplus We had it real dry here all spring, but got a fine rain last night and this morning, 1.3 inches. Bees are in fine condition, and are storing some surplus honey. H. W. Hechler. Hedrick, Iowa. June 3. Bees Wintered Well in Denmark Here in Denmark bees have wintered well. At this time bees are working on berry and fruit blossom and breeding up verv fast. Prospect is for a good year if we don't get too much cold weather. James Clausen. Tobjery. Denmark. May 24. A Fair Crop Expected Bees have not begun to store here as yet. Clover looks fair, but it hasn't as good a stand of old plants as at this time a year Basswood carries a fair crop of buds, so we hoiH- for a fair crop between the two. Dunlap, Iowa, June 9. E. S. Miles. Bee Business Very Discouraging The bee business is very discouraging. In March things looked very favorable for a good year, but April and May have been cold rainy months. Bees are in a weak condi- tion. The way things look now it will take the season for them to strengthen up— too late for a crop of honey. The great draw- back to this country is too much rain. White clover is beginning to show up in good shape, and things may take a turn for the better. M. S. Snow. I.ittell. Wash., May 30. Prospects for Another Good Crop Prospects here are good for another good honey crop, and I felt like " blowing " over my last year's crop (120 pounds per colony, spring count; one-half comb honey) until I read Dr. Miller s report. I wintered 40 colonies in 2-story hives, and the rest with "deep shallow " extracting supers of honey. With a long hard winter this ensures plenty of stores and good win lering. but this time the winter was mild, and in May 1 found nearly all honey bound, and about doo solid slabs of granulated honey, which, with plenty of honey coming in they would not touch except by exposing Ground Covered With Clover Blossoms The ground here is covered with clover blossoms, and while the flow may not be prolonged as it was last season, the pros- pects are fine for a big crop. Bees were never in better condition, no losses being reported in this vicinity. F'irst swarm seen and captured May 24. I have stiffened prices on honey here, and shall get for extracted $7.50 forbo-pound can, and 4S cents for 3-pound can. Bulk. 15 cents flat, but shall not try to produce any section honey. Letters received from different parts of the State report the prospects for a crop are not as good as here. A. F. Bonney. Buck Grove Iowa. June 2, Gathering Honey from Red Clover Seeing red-clover bees mentioned lately in the bee journals, and boomed pretty highly, I cannot help mentioning some of the facts that have come under my observa- tion. Last fall my bees worked on red clover strong enough to have gathered 100 pounds per colony. But I can truthfully say that they did not gather a single ounce of honey. I held a post-mortem examination on many bees in the field, and could not find a single one that had enough honey to last it until it got home. They were working for pollen, and I will say that pollen is all they ever gathered from red clover. I will inves- tigate in the field the coming season and see if I am not right. You know pollen is as im- portant as honey to the bees, so that is why they work on red clover, also on corn and strawberries. Clyde Cordrey. Bellefontaine. Ohio. (Please remember, however, that honey plants often act very differently in different localities, and even in the same locality in different years. The fact that your bees have never gathered honey from red clover does not prove that other bees might not succeed where yours have failed, nor that yours might not succeed in different locali- ties. Cases have been reported that can hardly be disputed in which goodly quanti- ties of honey have been stored from red clover.— C. C. Miller 1 Honey Crop Looks Disappointing — No Shiow for White Clover I had no winter losses, but the outlook for a honey crop looks disappointing for this season. We have had no apple blossoms, and there is no show for white clover. We had cherry and plum blossoms, but the bees worked on them only a few days as the weather was disagreably cold. My Italian bees have very little honey and brood at present, but my Carniolans have lots of brood hatched, and are in fine condition. I opened a 10-frame hive of Carniolans today, and found brood in every frame, and a fair amount of unsealed honey, which I did not find in my Italians, and I have a fine stock of Italians. Edw. V. Marek. Peoria, III.. May 16, Sure ot Some Honey For some years I have only kept a few colonies on account of other business. I have fought hard to keep them through the epidemic of foul brood, which has been present in Jefferson and adjoining counties. Last spring we had some inspection done here, and I find conditions much better as far as I have been over the territory covered last year. Bees are storing very fast. Some of my bees have one super full already. I produce comb and extracted honey; sometimes chunk honey The prospects are good for a fair crop of honey. We are sure of some, and with a iVi- inch rain today we look for the How to con- tinue for sometime yet. I hope to meet as many as can possibly make it convenient to attend our meeting to be held at Mt, Pleasant July 28, L. W. Elmore. Dci-uIv liisfiator. F'airfield. Iowa, June 12. Classified Department [Advertisements in this department will be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- counts of any kind . Notices here cannot be less than two lines. If wanted in this de- partment, you must say so when ordering. BEES AND QUEENS. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens will please you. Bees and Queens from my New Jersey apiary. J. H. M. Cook. lAtf 70 Cortland St.. New York City. Golden all-over Queens. Untested, $i.oo. Tested, $3,00, Breeders, $5.00 and $10. 2Atf Robert Inghram, Sycamore, Pa. For Sale— Choice Golden Queens that produce Golden bees equal to any. Wm. S. Barnett. Barnett's. Virginia. Pure Tunisian Queens, tested, $1.00; 2-lb. bees with tested queen. $4 00. Safe arrival guaranteed. Lenoel. Nabeul, Tunis. Untested Queens. 7Sc each; $7,50 per doz. Nuclei. $1 25perframe. Bees. $1.50 perpound. Full colonies. 8-frame. $6.50; 10-frame. $7.50. Stover Apiaries. Mayhew, Miss. British Golden Queens. Carniolans, leather-colored Italians, tested. $1 50 each. Diseases unknown. William Beck. Scosthrop Apiary, Bell Busk, via Leeds. Eng. F'OR Sale— F'ine Italian Queens. See my large ad. in this issue. J. F. Archdekin. Rt. 7, St. Joseph. Mo. igi4 Queens— Moore's strain of leather- colored Italians In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address. Ogden Bee & Honey Co.. Ogden. Utah. Italian Queens— Bees by lb. Descriptive List free. Apiaries under State inspection. Leaflets. " How to Introduce Queens." tsc. " How to Increase." 15c; both, 25c. 2Ait E. E. Mott. Glenwood. Mich. Choice Italian Queens— Hardy, gentle, white cappers. 3-banded. hustlers. Untested 75c each; six for $4.00. Select untested. $1.00; six for $5.00, Tested. Ji 50. A.J Seavey. Farminglon. Maine. Choice Italian Virgins— I'hree for $1,00; warranted, 75c each; tested. $1,25. Breeding queens. $2.00 and $5.00 each, by return mail. Stanley & Finch. I4SI Ogden .Ave.. Chicago. 111. Three-Banded Italian Queens. Prices, untested. 75c each, or $7 50 per doz. Tested. $1.50 each, or $14 per doz. Safe arrival guar- teed. James T. Johnson, R F. D,. Route i. Percy. Ill, Queens— 10 percent discount for orders received before May i. to be filled in May and June. Tested. $1.00: untested 75c. Dead ones replaced free. 2.Aot S. Click. Rt. 2. Box ib. Mt. Jackson. Va We Will be in the field with good Italian Queens in June for $1,00 each; 6 for $s 00. Two-frame nuclei in June without queen. $2 50; with queen. $[,00 extra D. I Blocher, Pearl City, III. READYalter April 20. Good ItalianQueens. Tested. $1.00; untested. 7y;c. Satisfaction guaranteed. G. W. Moon, igo4 Adams St,, Little Rock. Ark. July, 1914. American Bee Joarpajj California Italian Queens and bees by the pound for June and later delivery. Booked full until June ist. Circular and price-list free. Write. .1. E, Wine. J.S.S Schiele Ave., San Jose. Calif, Northern-reared Queens of Moore's strain of leather-colored three-banded Ital- ians. .-\fter lune 15. untested, $1.00; b for $5.00: 12 for J'j.oo. Ranier & Gluen, Harmony. Minn. Pheli's" Golden Italian Bees are hustlers. Italian Queens, sbanded. forsale. Ready April 15. Untested queens. 75c each, or $7.25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. falley. Queen Breeder. sAtf Rt. 4. Greenville. .Ala. Queens, improved Red Clover Italians. bred for business. June i to Nov. 15. Un- tested Queens. 75ceach; dozen. S8. 00; Select. $1.00 each; dozen. $10. Tested Queens. $1.25; dozen. $12. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. H. C. demons. Boyd. Ky. Try Ml'Rrv's strain of ^ banded Italians. No better queens at any price. Best stock obtainable. No foulbrood or other disease. Latest up-to-date methods in queen-rearing. Tested, i for Jloo. h for $5 00. Untested, i for 70 cts . 6 for $4 00. H. D. Murry. Queen-Breeder. Mathis. Tex. Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens. Ready March:. Thfy have been bred for three points, prolificness. gentleness and honey gathering qualities. Prices. Select Untested. 75c each; 6. $4. 25; 12. $8.25; 50. $32.50; 100. j6o. Tested, ti.50; Select Tested, $2.00. Garden City Apiary Co.. R. R. 3. Box 8t). San Jose. Calif. Pure Golden Queens, the best that twelve years can produce. Untested. $1.50 each, Select tested. S3. 00 each. Breeders. $5.00 to $50. Send for booklet on "Bees and Dis- eases." Geo. M. Steele, 30 South 40th St., Philadelphia, Penna. Golden Queens that produce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal- lenge the world on my Goldens and their honey-getting qualities. Price. $1.00 each; Tested. $2,00; Breeders. $5,00 and Sio.oo. 2Atf J. B. Brockwell. Barnetts. Va. The Bankston Bees and Queens are as ^ood as the best. Gold.en, Three-band and Carniolan. Tested. $1.00 each; untested. 75c. Queens ready to ship April 15. Bees, per pound. $1,50. Nuclei, per frame. Si. 50. Write us for prices on large lots of queens. Try us and be pleased. Bankston & Lyon. Box 141. Buffalo. Tex. Golden and 3-banded Italian and Carnio- lan queens, ready to ship after April ist. Tested. Si-oo; 3 to 6. q5c each;6 to 12 or more. Qoc each. Untested. 75c each; 3 to (>. 70c each; b or more, 65c. Bees, per lb., $150; Nuclei, per frame. Si. 50. C. B. Bankston. Buffalo. Leon Co., Tex. Dunn's Golden Italian queens, bred strictly for business that produce a strong race of honey gatherers. NIarch i to Oct. 15. : One. mated. 7=>c; 6. $4.25; 12. $8.25; 50, $32.50; 100. $60. L. J, Dunn. Queen Breeder. 2Aot Box 337 G. R. R. 6. San Jose. Calif. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated. $1.00; six. $5.00; Tested. $3 00; Breed- ers. $5.00 and $10 C. W. Phelps & Son, 3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton, N. Y. Quirin's Famous improved Italian queens are northern bred and extremely hardy; over 20 years a breeder. Colonies. Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H. G. Quirin. The Queen Breeder. Bellevue. Ohio. Queens Bred from Doollttle's best stock. Untested, 60c each; $0.60 per doz; $50 per luu. Same stock of one year old queens removed from our colonies to prevent swarming, soc each; $5.40 per doz; $40 per 100. Delivery ruaranteed. Nuclei 2-frame, Si. 50; 3 frame. 200. Add price of above queens wanted. We have a rare bargain of apiary of several hundred colonies ot bees for sale on easy terms. Particulars on request. Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff. Calif. tOR Sale.— Three-banded Italian Queens, bred from the best honey-gathering strains, that are also hardy and gentle. Untested queens. 75c; six. $125; 12. $8,on. Tested. $1.25; 6. $7.10; 12. $12. For select queens, add 25c each to above prices Breedingqueens. $) 00 to $5 ooeach. For queens in larger quantities write for prices. Robt B Spicer. Wharton. N.J. Fa.mous North Carolina Bred Italian Queens for sale .red clover 3banders). Hon- ey-gatherers good as the best. Strictly reared from Geo. B. Howe's best breeders; mated with Root's. .Moore's. Davis' Select Drones; bees that get the honey. Free from disease. Untested, one. 75c; per doz.. $7.50. Select untested, one. $1,00; per doz,. $g.co. Tested, one. $1,25. Select tested. $1.50. H;x- tra select tested. $2.00. Breeders. $3 00 and $5.00. H. B. Murray. Liberty. N. C. Queens by return mail or your money back. Guaranteed purely maled. J. E. Hand strain of 3 banded Italians Bred for gentleness, honey gathering and wintering. State inspector's certilicate. Select un- tested, one. 75c; six. $4.00; 12. $7.00. Tested, one, $1,00; six. $5,00; 12. $9.00; Select tested, one. $1,25; six. $7.00; 12. $13. Breeders. $4,00 each. Write for price on large orders. Safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed in U. S. and Canada. Ten percent discount on 30 days' advance orders. Reference. First Na- tional Bank. J. M. Giuerich. Arthur. Ill Three-Banded Italian Queens. Before July ist. untested, one. $1.00; 0. $5.00; 12. $9.00. Select untested, one. $1.25; t>, $6.25; 12. $11. After July ist, untested, one. 75c; (>, $400; 12. $7.00. Select untested, one. $1.00; 6. $5.00. 12. $8.50 One-frame nuclei. 75c; 2 frame. $1 50; 3-frame. $2.25. To each nucleus add price of Queen. Our Queens are reared in a locality where there has never been disease, and reared from strong vigorous colonies. The apiary is under most com- petent supervision. Safe arrival and satis- faction guaranteed. Horner Queen & Bee Co.. Ltd.. Youngsvilie. Pa. HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey.' Sample for stamp. Null Co., Demopolis, Ala Wanted— Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax. R. A. Burnett & Co.. 6Ai2t 173 S. Water St.. Chicago. 111. For Sale— Orange honey in 60-lb. cans. 2 in a case, at qc per pound. .Sample free. James NIcKee. Riverside, Calif SUPPLIES. Bee-Keeper. let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co.. 4Atf Greenville. Tex. Better Hives for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick. Sunnyside. Wash. The a. I. Root Company's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation. Poultry. Sup- plies. Seeds. Write for catalog. The Chas. E. Hopper Co , 185 Wright Ave.. Toronto, Ont. The National Beekeepers' Association now buy supplies for their members. Send us your order, enclosing the same money you have to pay others, and we will buy them for you on the co-operative plan. If not a member we reserve the right to retain $1.50 from the profits on your first order to pay your membership dues and subscrip- tion to the Review one year. Sample copy of the Review free. Address, National Beekeepers'Ass'n , Norlhslar.Mich MISCELLANEOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos). Write Dr. Bonney, Buck Grove. Iowa, for samples. Wanted to E.\(:hangk-8 and 10 frame Dovetailed hives in Hat, Dadant uncapping cans, and other supplies; all new goods. Want honey. Stanley Ingalls, Lenox, Iowa, The Beekeepers' Review Clubbing List The Review and Ameiican Bee Journal one year $1.50. The Review and Gleanings one year, $1,50. All three for one year only $2.00. Dealers, or those wanting to buy honey, kindly ask for a late number of the Review having a list of 100 producers having honey for sale. Address. The Beekeepers' Review. Nortbstar, Mich. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony; my neighbors got none. I'll tell you how for 25c. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. Make paint without oil cheaply. Best known for bee-hives, barns, coops, etc. Formula, i-c. I. Holmberg. El Dorado Springs. Mo. SITUATIONS. Wanted Immediately— A good willing assistant helper as apprentice for balance of season I will do well by one who is really anxious to learn, and is a good worker. Bees located in Missaukee Co . Mich., in a great clover belt. If interested, address let- ter to O, H Tow-nsend. Hutterfield. Missau- kee Co,. Mich., giving age. etc. POULTKY For Sale— Single Comb Buff Orpington eggs for hatching, pure bloods; $1 00 per 15 or $5 00 per hundred Satisfaction Guaranteed. W. H. Payne. Hamilton. III. EASTERN BEEKEEPERS This is the season when you will need bees or supplies. Our catalog, which is free, will show you how to save money. We have a large stock and can ship promptly. Italian queens, $1.10. I. J. STRINGHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. ITALIAN OUEENS NORTHERN BRED Superior winterers, sec- ond to none. My free list explains it all. Untested. $1.00; select tested, $1.50. Bees by the pound or half pound. Plans, " How toIntroduceOueens." 15 cents. " How to Increase." 15 cents; both. 25 cents. E. E. MOTT, Glenwood.Mich. ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS Three banded. Bred for persistent profit able production of honey. Prolific, hardy, gentle. The bee for pleasure or profit. One customer says. "Your queen soon had her 10 frames running over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction guaran- teed. Orders filled promptly. Ready May 20. Oatestci SI 00 eick : 6 for S.30; dor. $10. Select tested, $2 CKb. J. F. Archdekin. R. R. 7, St. Joseph, Mo. July, 1914. American ^ec JonrnaTI Chicago. June 20.— There is very little honey sold at this time of the year in this market); Itierefore. prices vary but little. During July it will be coming forward, but at this writing none of that gatliered in igi4 has come, as there has been an abundance of the croii of I'jjj, to supply all demands. Fancy comb is held at I4f?i5c per pound with under grades ranging from i(2'.ic per pound less, l-'.xtracted H(!?qc per pound for white, and 7@8c per pound for light ambers. Bees- wax 3.i@.?5c per pound, according to color and cleanliness. R. A. Burnett & Co. San Francisco. June 20 —Comb honey is I3^@ioc a pound, according to quantity and quality purchased. We want beeswax a 32c a pound delivered here. The Fred W. Muth Co. Indianapolis, June 15,— F'ancy whitecomb honey is being offered here at ib^iic per pound; amber comb at I4^i5c. White clover extracted <<@!ioc in 5-gallon cans. Much comb is being held here, but at this writing there is very little demand. Ex- tracted is in fair demand. Producers are being paid 32c cash for beeswax or 34c in trade. Walter S Pouder. Los Angei.es. June 20.— I beg to advise you that quotations on honey at present are as follows; Light amber alfalfa. sHc; light amber sage. 6c: fancy white sage and white orange. 7@8c. Beeswax is in very light supply, and is quoted at 32c. Hamilton & Mendrrson. Denver. June 15. —We have no more old stock of comb honey to offer. We are sell- ing extracted in a jobbing way at the follow- ing prices: White extracted. 8c: light am- ber. 7C. We pay 32c per pound in cash and 34c in trade for clean yellow beeswax deliv- ered here. The Colo. Honey-Producers' Assn. Frank Rauchfuss, Afer. New York. June 17. --There is some de- mand for new crop of white comb honey which is selling at from I4@i6c per pound, according to quality. Off grades are not wanted. We carried over several lots from last year for which it seems almost impossi ble to tind buyers at any reasonable price. As to extracted the market is decidedlydull. The new crop is beginning to arrive from the South, and off grades find a slow sale at from 55@boc per gallon, while fancy grades are in better demand, and are selling at around 75C?8^c per gallon, according to qual- ity. West India honey, especially Porto Rican. is arriving right along and finds only small sale at 55C»'5;c oer gallon. Beeswax is steady and firm at from 3t@36c per pound, according to quality. Hildreth & Segelken. SHIPPING CASES - SPECIAL DEAL SINGLE DECK-u'l s.vticu. I'-im-h ii'lass shi])i)inii- cases, spocial price. Write us! Ship us your nld combs and cappiiitj's. Tt incaiis iii(>r(> -wax and money for you. We l)\iy honey I'oi' cash. Write us wlial yoii have 111 soli. THE FRED W. MUTH CO., "The Busy Bee Men" 204 Walnut St., Cincinnati, Ohio Miller's Strain Italian Queens By return mail or money refunded. Bred from best RED CLOVER STRAINS in the Inited Slates. In full colonies, from my SUPERIOR BREEDERS, northern bred; for business; lony tongued: leather color or tlireebaiided; gentle; winter well; hust- lers: not inclined to swarm; roil honey in. Untested, I, 75c; f.. $4.00; 12. $7 50. Select un- tested, one. $1.00; b. $500; 12. $!VOOS<>OUeOS08<>SOS»S<>0>SO!»tN INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER Box 48, LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK TENNESSEE-BRED QUEENS 42 years' experience in queen-rearing— Breed 3-band Italians only Nov. I to May i Untested |i so t 7.S0 $13.50 Select Untested 2.00 8.50 1500 Tested 2.50 n.50 25.00 Select Tested.. 3.00 16 50 30.00 May I to June i $1.25 $ 6 50 $11.50 1.50 7.50 13 50 2.00 10,50 18.50 2.75 15.00 27.00 June I to Ju lyi Jul I • I to Nov. I I 6 12 6 12 (i.oo $ 5-00 $ Q.OO $.75 $ 4 00 $ 7.50 125 6.50 12.00 1. 00 5.00 Q.OO 1.75 9.00 17.00 1.50 8.00 1500 2.50 13.50 25.00 2,00 10.00 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year— Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested for breeding, $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.50 to $10 each. Queens for export will be carefully packed in long distance cages, but safe delivery is not guaranteed. John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. ^XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXi "Griggs Saves You Freight" TOLEDO " Griggs Saves You Freight" h IN IN IN IN h IN h With four carloads of new goods on hand, we are now better prepard for the rusi than ever. But don't wait to be in the rush. Send your o^der in now and have the g'.3ods on hand, ready for use. NEW ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF 60 PACES y We want one in every beekeepers' hands. Send postal for one today. It is free WHITE CLOVER EXTRACTED HONEY WANTED ALSO BEESWAX In exchange for supplies It will be to your interest to i^et in touch and keep in touch with us. S. J. GRIGGS & CO., 24 N. Erie St., TOLEDO, OHIO i,h-;(:r,.s js _i/.\\.n-\ i>\ tiil J"/:' IEW ENGLAND B EE KEEPERS Everything in Supplies New Goods. Factory Prices Save Freight and Express Charges CULL & WILLIAMS CO. Providenca, R. I. soeccccccoecosicoooQosootMtx WESTERN BEE KEEPERS i^^one^and k'et the best k'oods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers* Association Denver, Colorado I W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your Queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty -five years of careful breeding brings i.aws' queens above the usual standard: bet ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist. About so first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested. $1.25; 5 for Uoo: Breeders, each J5.00. Address y W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. Bee-Supplies LET US FIGURE WITH YOU We know we can satisfy you on quality. Write for catalog. C.C.CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. Dept. S., Kansas City, Mo. CARWIOLAN QUEENS AFTER JULY i 1 6 12 Untested ti.oo J5.50 %'i.ao Tested, the same price. Address. WM. KERNAN. R. F. D. No. 2, - Dushore, Pa. TAYLOR'S 1914 THREE-BANDED Italian Queens Now ready by mail; 26 years' careful breed- ing for the best honey-gatherers. None bet- ter. Prolific, and honey-getters. We till all orders promptly. Untested. $1.00 each, or $1(1 a dozen. Tested. $1 25 each, or $12 a dozen. Select tested. $1.50 each, or $1; a dozen. Breeders, the best. $5.00. Send all orders to J. W. Taylor & Son, Beeville, Bee Co., Tex. QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of 1 band stock reared for honey tjctthenne qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later, 75c Tested, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of having queens when you want them. R. A. SHULTS, Cosby, Tenn. 250 American Hee Jonrnal Thale's Regulative Vacuum Bee-Feeder Is the best by test. Arrangements have been made with the leading dealers and Bee Supply manufacturers to catalog and sell this feeder for 1915. Watertown. Wis.. May 7. 1014. Mr, H. H. Thai.e. Maywood. Mo. — /tew .SV>.— Referring to your Bee P'eeder and the test Mr Kenneth Hawkins made for us. we are herewith enclosing copy of his report iust received, and which will undoubtedly be of interest to you. \Ve have now made note to list this feeder in our 1515 Bee Supply catalog and will place our orders for feeders in due time. Yours truly. Geo. B. Lewis Company. Plainfield, 111.. May 4. 1914. G. B. Lewis Co.. Watertown. Wis.— ZJMr 5/«.-— In referring tn comparative tests of bee feeders, in my opinion there is no better feeder for stimulative feedingor for the queen breeder than Thale's Regulative Vacuum Bee Feeder. It is better than tlie Boardman in that the bees can always take the syrup, even in coldest weather. They took feed here ivith the temperature at 22 degrees at night. There is no comparison between the Thale and Boardman or division-board feeder, owing to the ease with which one may control the flow. It is better than the Alexander for the same reason, and that it doesn't make a nuisance fastened to the hive. The Miller feeder will always be the best fall feeder for handling large lots of syrup. I believe, but the Thale may be fed so as to empty in 12 hours. I have found, and that threatens to outgrow the Miller, owing to the ease of operation and lack of bothersome equipment. The value of stimulative feeding is already known, and within 24 hours after feeding with the Thale I had eggs in every cell that the bees could cover here with the temperature below freezing. This with pollen from the maples. Altogether I recommend the Thale feeder as being the best feeder I have ever used for stimulative feeding. Kennith Hawkihs. Bret\hr of Qualitv Hill Quccm. Beekeepers can buy these feeders from G. B. Lewis Co., Watertown, Wis., and their thirty dis' tributing houses : Minnesota Bee Supply Co., Minneapolis, Minn.; Leahy Mfg. Co., Higginsville, Mo.' Earl M. Nichols, Lyonsville, Mass.; B. H. Masters, Edison, Ohio; and Harry W. Martin, New Holland' Pa. I want every dealer and manufacturer of Bee Supplies to handle these feeders next season. Write for jobbers' prices. Buy these feeders from your nearest dealer for 1915. H. H. THALE, Manufacturer, Maywood, Mo. SYRACUSE CHICAGO NEW YORK BALTIMORE CANONSBURG CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY INCORPORATED HONEY CANS All Styles-All Sizes Top Boxed Square Cans 60-Pound Shipping Cans HONEY PAILS Qalc^e Affi^^oe ■ "01 South HalsledSt., Chicago oaies VTTices . g^g ^ 43^ 5^^^^^ ^^^ y^^^l^ Qj^y July, 1914. American ^Bac Jonrnal| 251 jeosOGOOGOSOOOOOSCCOOCOSOOSOOOOOeOOOOGCOOOOCCCOOGOOCOqi ' NARSHFIELD GOODS I BEEKEEPERS: — We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section- Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. U Jbco Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis oooeosooogeccoooecoscoooooooooogcoeoooooso Beekeepers' Supplies and Fruit Packages We manufacture the famous Sheboygan Hive, which always gives absolute satisfaction. Our perfect sections, made from selected white basswood, are rec- ognized as the best on the riiarket. Catalog now ready for distribution. Write for copy. SHEBOYGAN FRUIT BOX COMPANY, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Gus Dittmer Company ^ Augusta, Wisconsin ^ ^/ooooooooocooeo90soecoseccceccclS09Qooccoao(>soQeoSlodt PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. IVIanufacturers OF THE (( NONE BEHER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from younc, white, basswood. White Pine Hives and Supers. Excellent Shippine ■ Cases. Brood Frames, Separators, etc We invite your correspondence. Cuarantae— All loods cuaranteed perfect in workmanship and material or money cheerfully refunded. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wia. Early QUEENS Send me your address for Italians and Car- niolans. I BEGIN mailing Queens early in March. Untested, 75 cts. each. Tested, $1.25 each. Circular free. Grant Anderson, ^"Vfx,"j'° DUADD WANTS YOUR ORDERS rnflnn for queens Goldens and 3-Banded Italians I For twelve years we have asked for your orders and we have eottenall we could fill and sometimes more. But we have ever tried to serve you right, and will guarantee similar treat- ment in the future. Prices of Untested. $i.oo; Tested. $1.50; Breeders. 3.00 to $5 00. Write for prices in laree quantities. zframe Nuclei. aueenless.l2.25| ^ All^ 10 ■■ colonies with queen SM* Berciair. Orders booked now— delivery last of May or June John W. Pharr, Berciair, Texas CARNIOLAN QUEENS Carniolans .ire excellent winterers build up rapidly in the sprine. are very efntle \ ery prolific, cap their combs very white, enter supers readily, and keep the.r colonies strone at all times Write for our free pa- per. "Superiority of the Carniplan Bee ex- plaining more fully, eivine briefly best sys- tems of manaeement. Untested queens. Jroo each; doz.. Jo.oo. One-lb package bees with- out queen. $1. so; with queen. 1-150. in lune, ALBERT C. HANN. Clinton, Now Jeraey (\uniouni On'O'Biteder SPECIAL DELIVERY During this month we shall double our usual efforts in points of delivery and service. We carry nothing but the Root make, which ensures the best quality of every thing. We sell at factory prices, there- by ensuring a uniform rate to every one. The saving on transportation charges from Cincinnati to points south of us will mean quite an item to beekeepers in this territory. We are so located that we can make immediate shipment of any order the day it is received. New 64-Page Catalog Our new 1914 catalog contains double the pages of former editions, and requires extra postage. It is filled from cover to to cover with complete lists of goods in every line to meet every requirement of bee- keepers. If you haven't received a copy when you read this, be sure to ask for one. It will save you money. New Features for 1914 Few radical changes have been made this season. It should be noted, however, that we will send out with regular hives, unless otherwise ordered, the metal telescopic or R cover with super cover underneath. The side rail for the bottom-board will be extra length so as to overcome the difficulty experienced by some last season Improvements have been made in extractors. We shall carry a very heavy stock so orders may be filled with our usual promptness. Write us your needs. Early-order discount this month 2 percent. C. H. W. WEBER & CO. CINCINNATI, 2146 Central Avenue, OHiO ->^^->§ §«-^>§§^^->§^^@ @<">^§<->@ ^^->^^ *^^->^^->^@<-^'^ "r.; .1 WE MAKE IT GOOD THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS The Reputation of DADANT'S FOUNDATION Has been Duilt on its merit It is a Favorite with Beekeepers BECAUSE It is so well liked by the BEES Whether it's a pound or whether it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way r>' v.^ ^, Wi^'P. f^lfJ flK9l9JlflML9Jtfta&^.^^^ -N^^ .'Q,^-'^ •>. h\Jt<.^^CL. Isle of Wight Bee Disease Showing queen among sniiill chister of dead tiees on comb, taken from center of broodnest in early spring. See contribution by G. W, Judge. copyright. 254 August, 1914. American liee Journal ^ J^M3S3RIO^^.^^ PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY American Bee Journal 1st Nat'I Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $r.oo a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. Ji.io; ind in all other countries in tlie Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance, " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December. 1914. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 5 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 3 times 14c a line q times iic a line 0 " I2C " la " (I yr.) loc a line Reading Notices. 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 23d of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy B*es More Beautiful, More Gentle, More Indoitriooi, Long Tongaed, Tbe Beat Honey-Gathtreri. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Agricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. 1805. Swiss National fi^xposition. Geneva. i8q6, Bee-Keeping Exhibition, Liege Belgium. 1806. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1Q07. m^^^^ Universal Exposition, St. Louis, W U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Dominion of Canada. Department (jf Agri culture. Central Experimental Farm. Ottawa, Sept. ^. i)n Sir:— I am pleased to inform you that the three queens were received in good condi- tion, and have been safely introduced. (Signed) C. Gordon Hewitt, Dominitni l--ntomolot:ist. •Jklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. Stillwater. Oct 7. i';i3. Your Queen arrivedin firstclasscondition. and introduced her without any difficulty. (Signed) Prof. E. C. Sanhokn. state Enlotitolot:ist. Extra BreedingQueens,$3.oo; Selected. $2.00; Fertilized. $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of the) ANTHONY BIAGCI, National Bee- - Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass' n I Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Pkasc mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Buy Carniolans in Carniola Pure Carniolan Alpine Bees Write in English for Book- let and pricelist. Awirded 60 Johann Strgar, Wittnach p. O. Wocheiner-Feistritz Upper - Carniola (Krain), Austria. " If goods are ifanlcd quick, send to Fonder.'^ BEE-SUPPLIES EOUIPMENT Store room built expressly for the business; large con- " Crete basement with just enough moistuce to prevent breakage in sections. No shrinkage in dovetailed corners of supers and hives. QUALITY ^°°' goods at factory prices. The kind that I have sold for ^ nearly a quarter of a century, and the kind that you can afford to recommend to your neighbors. I might have increased my profits for a short time by handling other goods, but I would not have remained so long in business. Many articles in my catalog can reach you by Parcel Post, and I assume all responsib lity in safe delivery of the goods. Catalog free. WALTER S. POUDER, 873 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. BOOK For Beginners or Old-timers Lots of good tips on raising those wonderful little money makers in this book — describes our complete line of bee supplies. Bees Help Pay the Grocery Bill Little expense, fascinating pas- time. Act on good impulse, start right now. Blanke Mfg. & Supply Co., Dept. 1, St. Louis, Missouri LARGEST, BEST and most complete line of Bee and Poultry Supplies ever seen in Illinois at the lowest living: prices. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Established in 1800 Send ■ or our new catalog. Let us hear from you. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, III. QUINN'S QUEENS OF QUALITY Not coming, but are here to stay. Best bee for any climate. Purest of the pure GREY CAUCASIANS Bred strictly in the lik'lit of Mendel's Laws of Heredity; no guess, but positive results. Tlie pioneer scientific queen-rearing estab- lishment of America. We lead, otliers may follow. Every queen guaranteed as to purity of mating. Special isolated mating station on bald open prairie, not a tree within miles — no chance for gypsy drones. CHAS. Box 389 W. QUINN Beaumont, Texas SHIPPING CASES SPECIFICATIONS One-piece cover, bottom and back, one-fourth inch tliick and smooth on both ,sides. Ends one-half inch thick, smooth on botli sides and hand-holed. Glass rails three-eights inch thick, smoothon both sides. Lumber free from rot, shake, and loose or rough knots. Corrugated straw board in the bottom and paper cover- ing on top. Where can you find a better case V One-piece covei- and bottom makes a much better and stronger case than a pieced cover or bottom. Our shipping cases must be seen to be appreciatetL Why do you pay more money for an inferior article ? (1(4 our iirices and save money. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY CO. ZJ^^S. '£ Manufacturers of Dovetail Hives, Sections, Hoffman Frames, Etc. August. 1914. American l^ee Jonrnal CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or lo frame, 2Sc each. Covers and bottoms, prices upon application, Fal con Fountiation and Bee Supplies. FROFALCON QUEENS Kverythint' for the beekeeper. Address, J. C. Frohtiger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco *'Viuw mention Am. B« Journal when writing. tlAnnCO Machinery Read wh&t J. 1 FASZifT, of CixAt^ ton, N. y., aaysi "W« cut with ofts of yoMT Oomblnad Maohlcea, isMi winter 60 sbaff hi ree with T-lu. ca^ \00 honey-racks, MO tir»>d-trame9 ^000 boDey-boxek and a great deft of other work This wttttar we ha-irv dosbletbeamoont 3f (k3e-hlTee,et«. Xq make, and we etpecttodo itwltfc thlfl Saw It wlfl da ail yoa aay n irllt" Catalog a.>d pn;e-list tree Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that monej' can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan Bred in Separate Yards Untested, one. 75c; 6. $4.25; 12. $750: 25* 1425; 100, $50. Tested, one, Ji 50; six. $8.00; 12. $15. Breeders of either strain. $5- Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame, $2.50: six one-frame. Ji5; two-frame $3.50; six two-frame 120.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. J3.00; six one-frame. $17.40; two-frame, $4; six two frame $2340. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. P-O-R-T-E-R (Trade mark. I HONEY I AT ALL SAVES ]t^ME^^ [ DEALERS Eacb, 15c; Doz., $1.66, posti>ai(l If your Dealer does not keep them, order from Factory, with complete instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, MFRS., Lewistown, Illinois BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hlve-bod- les. Smokers, etc. Get my prices before placing your orders. R. H. SCHMIDT Rt. 3, Box 209, Sheboycan, Wis. The Bingham Bee-Smoker MEW niNGHAM Bee Smoker Patented nearly forty years on the market, and llie ?i52"''?,''.' '" ''"san'i many foreign countries Iheallimporlant tool of the most important honey.producers of the world. Such men as Mr. trance and the Dadants use the Bine- hain. By co operation Mr. Townsend uses SIX Smoke tngines' For sale at your dealers or direct. Postage extra. Smoke Engine, 4 inch stove; wt. each i?4 lb «j J, Doctor. j!.-inch stove; wt. each iH lb 8s Two larger sizes in copper, extra.." \l Conqueror, vin. stove: wt. each. I'A lb.. '7; Little Wonder. ;;5-inch; wt. each i lb so Two largest sizes with hinged cover. Woodman Style Veils Our veils contain I'i yards of the best material for the purpose — imported French tulle veiling. They are made with a rubber cord in the top to fit around the hat, and the lower edge has the cord arrangement, the two ends going around behind the body, and back in front to tie. Thisarrangement holds the veil down on the shoulders snugly, away from the neck, and permits the wearer to handle bees in his shirt sleeves with no chance of bees crawling up and under veil. With a hat of fair size brim to carry veil away from the face you are as secure from stings, movements as free and unrestricted, and as cool and comfortable as you would be at a summer resort. All cotton, each, postpaid $ .50 Cotton with silk face. each, postpaid 60 Bee-hat. flexible rim. fits any head, postpaid 35 Extra silk face piece, postpaid 10 Long-sleeve bee-gloves, postpaid ^5 Such men as R. F. Holtermann, J. E. Crane & Son, N. E. France, and many others all over U. S. A., order a supply of these veils each season, year after vear. A. G. Woodman Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land — None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE-SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H. S. Duby. St. Anne, ill., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. I QUEENS y- QUEENS | X Bees by the pound and full colonics k SKrom a superior strain of three C banded Italians. Hardy, gentle, and Q they are hustlers. Guaranteed to Q please you. X Send for my 19t4 descriplive catalog u I have a large stock of modern Bee 0 Supplies always on hand. Root's Gray Caucasians Best Bee for Everybody Glass Honey Dishes The Handiest Dish in the Home Cambined Bee-brush and Hive Tool A Great Tool for the Bee Yard Ant Dope Guaranteed to Rid Everything of Ants Prices sent free. Write to-day. A. D. D. Wood Box 61, Lansing, Michigan QUEENS of MOORE'S STRAIN of ITALIANS PRODUCE WORKERS That till the supersquick With honey nice and thick. They have won a world-wide, reputa- tion for honey gathering, hardiness, gen- tleness, etc. Untested queens. $1.00. six. $s 00; 12.(000 -Select untested. $1,25: six $600; 12. Jii.oo' Safe arrival andsatisfaction guaranteed' Circular free J. P. MOORE, Queen-breeder Route 1, Morgan, Ky August, 1914. American l^ee Jonrnal "falcon" QUEENS Three-band and Golden Italians, Caucasians and Carniolans Untested, July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, $ .85 ; six, $4.50 ; twelve, $ 8.50 SELECT Untested, July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, 1.00; six, 5..50 ; twelve. 10.00 Tested, $1.50 each. Select tested, 2.00. All queens are reared in strong and vigorous colonies, and mated from populous nuclei. Instructions for introducing are to be found on the reverse side of the cage cover. A full line of bee supplies and foundation manufactured by us at Falconer, N. Y. Write for samples of our foundation and Red Catalog, postpaid. WESTERN DISTRIBUTERS:— C. C. demons, Bee Supply Co., 128-130 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Missouri OTHER DEALERS EVERYWHERE Red Catalog, postpaid "Simplified Beekeeping," postpaid W. T. FALCONER MFG. CO., FALCONER N. Y. Where the good bee hives come from Root's Goods In igan Our Specialty — The " Root Quality " Bee Supplies to Michigan Beekeepers Prompt Service in Shipping. We sell at factory prices. Beeswax Wanted Send for 1914 Catalog showing our Parcel Post Service. M. H. Hunt & Son, Dept. A, Lansing, Mich. When You Need Queens We will be pleased to till your order. Our business of rearing queens was established in 1886. We know what it means to have a good strain of bees and queens that standi second to none. Three-band Italians only — bred for business and free from disease. Tested. Ji. 00 each. Untested. 7Sc; S; oo a do J. W. K. SHAW & CO., Loreauville, La. Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doing our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wide-awake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in 1Q13. when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for IQ14. For 1014 we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years. In decidingjust what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority. JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue for IQ12. In getting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raisini; and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY — Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for igi2 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subject. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Kxtensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in *ii«fi'-production. will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1— Beekeeping in Cities.— Probably few beekeepersrealize the number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic, and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by professional men. we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a //•;«• story of a beekeeper in a city who was fined $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL — Breeding Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted queen-breeders on qualifications of breeding queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1 Moving Bees — We, ourselves, expect to move 300 colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. —There has never yet been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop 2nd market reports from various parts of the country. In IQ14 we are going to make the effort of our lives to get telegraph reports from impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt, Texas, Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we get them, but in this August ist issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- ports and conditions of the market in gen- eral, No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1— Wintering— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of igi3-i4, which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE? We have now given you our plan for 1014. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price. Ii.oo. will bring you. The A. L ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio August. UM4. 257 American "Bee Journal )>^^^i^ i Chicago. July 20 -A little of the honey harvest of lou is on the market, but it is meeting with very little demand, and prices are not at all tirm Sales are beint; made at from 14& 15c per pound (or the best grades ot white comb honey in onenound section frames with the ambers at from i@3C per pound less. Extracted ranges frorn p&uc per pound for the white grades, and from 6@8c for the amber, all according to Havor andother cjualities. Beeswax coniinues to sell upon arrival at 35c per pound if of good color, free from sediment or adulteration o( any kind. R- A. Burnett & Co. 1.0s Angki.es, luly 20.— a large proportion of the crop in California has suffered sen ously during the past year on account of dis- ease among the bees. As a result there are fewer bees working this year, but the yield per colony is much belter than it was last year in most districts. I'he orange crop was small this season, amounting to only about one-half of last year's production, and this kind of honey is practically all sold. I he crop from sage and other mountain flowers has been of exceptionally tine quality, and the yield has been quite good, whereas last year white sage was practically a failure. Alfalfa honey seems to be quite plentiful. and is freely offered at ic per pound less than the average price of last year. Market conditions have been very satisfactory so far this season, the demand being very poor, even though pricesare much lower thandur- Ing the previous season. .-Mthough wax has sold at unusually high prices throushout the spring, the market is considerably easier now. New wax is being received in small quantities, and will no doubt be plentiful before long. Hamilton & Henderson, Cincinnati, July 2,— There is very little demand for honey of all grades, for the rea- son that business in general is below nor- mal. In fact, it is very dull, and we find sales dlfticult to make However, there are shipments of new honey headed this way. both comb and extracted honey, and per- haps its arrival will give the demand an im- petus. Until the conditions are settled we refrain from quoting prices. The Fred W. Muth Co. Boston. July 17— bancy and No. i white comb. I5@i6c per pound. Fancy white ex- tracted in 6o-pound cans, iic per pound. Beeswax. 30c. Blake.-Lee Company. Indianapolis. July 14— Very little honey is moving Much comb has been carried over from last year. The demand is good for extracted, but as yet no prices are es- tablished. Producers of beeswax are being paid 32c cash, and slightly higher when goods are taken in payment, Walter S Pouder, Denver. July 15.— We have no more old stock of comb honey to offer. We are sell- ine extracted in a jobbing way at the follow- ing prices: White extracted. 8c. light am- ber. 7C. We pay 32c per pound in cash and 34c in trade for clean yellow beeswax deliv- ered here. , . The Colo. Honey-Producers Ass n, Frank Rauchfuss. Mer. San Franhsco. July 2o.-Comb honey is I3(°'I4C per pound for fancy; ii@i2c for light amber; loc for amber Extracted honey, white. 8@ioc; light amber. 6@8c; dark, s&s'ic. Some of the new extracted honey has come in, in small quantities, the cold weatherhav- ing interfered with the prospects of early honey, and some of the beekeepers are com- plaining, John C. Frohliger, Kansas City, Mo.. July 15 -There is no change to note in our honey market. No new comb coming in. and our market is well sup- plied with extracted honey. Weather is still hot. consequently nodemand to speak of for extracted. We think the first shipments of honey will sell as follows: No. i white comb. 24-section cases, $3 25 to $350; No, 2, $2,75 to $too; No. I amber, $3.00 to $525; No. 2. S2.75 to $3 00. No. I extracted, white honey, per pound. 7!^@8c: amber. i(snMc. No. i beeswax, per pound. 25@30C. C. C. Clemons Produce Company, New York. July 17. --There is practically nothing new to report- Some new crop comb honey is arriving from the South, and fancy stock is selling at i6c; lower grades. I2@uc, all according to quality. We still have a lot of last year's stock on hand, all off grades, more or less candied, for which there is absolutely no sale at any reasonable price. As to extracted, the market is quiet, and no prices have been established as yet for the new crop, on California. Western or Eastern honey; in fact, there is none in the market as yet. excepting from the South, which finds fairly good sale at former quota- tions. Beeswax is more plentiful and in less demand. Prices ranging from 34@!(! per pound. HiLDRETH & Segelken. Notice, Secretaries! We want the name and address of the Secretary of every bee- keepers' association in the United States and Canada, also the dates on which the Convention or Field Day of the coming season will be held; also other detailed information in regard to the forthcoming convention. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL Is at the service of Beekeepers' Organizations, and we cannot render full and complete service unless he have the necessary information from tlie associations. We trust every American Bee Journal reader whose eye catches this notice who is a member or a friend of a mem- ber of a beekeepers' organization, will make it a point to call the sec- retary's attention to this notice and advise him to forward us the necessary information. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, HAMILTON, ILL. Miller's Strain Italian Queens By return mail or monev refunded. Bred from b.st RED CLOVER STRAINS in the I'nited Slates, hi full colonies, from my SUPERIOR BREEDERS, northern bred; for business; long tongued; leather color or three-banded; gentle; winter well; hust- lers; not inclined to swarm; roll honey in. Untested. 1. 75c; ii. $4.00: 12, $7 50. Select un- tested, one. $1.00; 6. J500; 12. $g.oo. A spe- cialist of 17 years' experience. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. I. F. MILLER, BROOKVILLE, PA. ■NUTMEG" ITALIAN QUEENS By return mail. Write for prices by Ike hundred. ARTISTS ENGRAYERS-ELECTROTyPERS 542 550 S. DEARBORN ST i PONTIACBLDG. CHICA.GO. C Untested Italian Queen-Bees Our Standard Bred 6 Queens for $6.00 3 for $3.50 1 for $1.25 For a number of years we have been sending out to beekeepers e.xceptionally fine Untested Ital- ian Queens puiely mated, and all right in every respect. The price of one of our Un- tested Queens alone is $1.25, or with the " old reliable " American Bee Journal for one year, both for $1.60. You cannot do better than to get one or more of our fine Standard-bred Queens. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL Hamilton, Illinois BE CAREFUL OF YOUR HONEY CROP Now that you are through with all the anxious work preliminary to gathering in the honey Look to It that Your Honey Crop Goes On the Market Right! See that Your Honey Is In Lewis Sections The sections that are scientifically right—made out of nice bright Wisconsin basswood The manufacture of Lewis Sections is watched over by experts Lewis Sections Fold Perfectly Lewis Shipping Cases ARE SUPERB Do not cheapen your product by inferior cases. You can afford the best Remember, your shipping cases are the show windows for the sale of your goods Your honey will bring more money if well displayed INSIST ON THE LEWIS MAKE G. B. LEWIS COMPANY, Watertown, Wis., Sole Manufacturers Thirty Distributing Houses Send for the name of the one nearest to you (Entered as second-class matter at the Post-oflice at Hamilton. 111., under Act of March 5. I87g.! Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building C. p. DADANT. Editor. DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. HAMILTON, ILL., AUGUST, 1914 Vol. LIV.— No. 8 .Edition of Iowa BuUetius Ex- hausted Mr. Frank C. Pellett, State Inspector of Iowa, states that the demand has been so great for Reports of the Bee Inspector of Iowa, that the supply will be exhausted within a short time. These Reports can no longer be sent out on requests outside of the State owing to the limited quantity. Always luterestiug The "Guide to Nature" is always in- teresting, but its July number is un- usually tine. Among curious photo- graphs it contains one of a rooster in the act of crowing. The flash was taken at the proper moment. Minnesota State Beelteepers The "Minnesota Horticulturist " con- tains a report of the joint session of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society with the Garden Flower Society, the Beekeepers' Society and the Florists' Society on June lli, but it has only this to say of the beekeepers : " The beekeepers were out in con- siderable force, but they withdrew themselves at a respectable distance where they could talk bees and manip- ulate them without interfering with the comfort ^nd happiness of the other members of the society. Nothing seems to be more absorbing than the study of the bee. as judging from the interest that that society takes in its work." Honey Plants ot Iowa We have received the following let- ter from Dr. L. H. Pammel, the Botan- ist of the Iowa Agricultural Experi- ment Station. Dr. Pammel is a man of great ability, who is already the author of two large botanical works, " A Man- ual of Poisonous Plants of Eastern North America," and "The Weed Flora of Iowa," which was noticed in our April number, page 11(3. We trust the beekeepers of Iowa and surrounding States will heed the re- quest and lend their help to this able worker in producing a useful work for this section. The cooperation of the American Bee Journal is freely ex- tended : The Botanical Section of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station is making a study of the honey plants of Iowa. This study will take some years to be completed. It is hoped to obtain information on all honey plants, and the insects which visit the flowers for nectar and pollen. We would like, therefore, to get the help of all persons interested in honey-producing plants. We would be pleased to have the beekeepers send us not only lists of plants visited by honey bees, but speci- mens of the plants as well ; also notes on the flow of honey in different plants. It is highly desirable to have information on the relation of the honey flow to precipitation, e. g., when does the greatest flow occur; in dry weather, medium dry or moist ? Any informal on which you or your readers are able to give us will be ap- preciated. Any communications should be sent direct to me. L. H. Pammel. " The Times of Cuba" Through the kindness of Mr. D. W. Millar, our correspondent in Cuba, we are in receipt of a copy of the July issue of "The Times of Cuba." He states it is the best English publication on the island, and reaches, perhaps, as nearly every English speaking person in Cuba and the Isle of Pines as is possible. The July number is indeed very fine, and a credit to its editor. In the mag- azine are included authentic reports from correspondents in different sec- tion of the island. Any on.; interested in Cuba should write to Mr. E. F. O'Brien at Havana, Cuba, for a speci- men copy. Destroying Disease Germs by Heating The I'nited States Department of Agriculture has issued Bulletin No. 92, written by G. F. White, M. D., Ph. D., as mentioned on page 224. The name of the writer at once stamps it as a bulletin of special interest to bee- keepers. A series of experiments has been made by Dr. White, which re- sults in the determination of the low- est point of heat sufficient to destroy the germs of infectious bee-diseases, provided that temperature be steadily maintained for 10 minutes. The differ- ent degrees for the different diseases are : For European foulbrood 145.4 " American foulbrood 208.4 " Sacbrood 136.4 " Nosema disease 134.() It is a matter of much satisfaction to have definite knowledge upon these points. It may not be easy for every beekeeper to know the exact tempera- ture at which a quantity of honey stands, but it is not difficult to deter- mine when it is boiling, and reference to the figures given shows that boiling fills the bill in each case. There is danger, however, that the serious mis- take be made of raising the outer part of a mass of honeyto the boiling point, while the center of the mass is much 260 August, 1914. American l^ee Joarnal below that point. This is especially true in the case of granulated honey. It will be well not to hurry the process. First, bring the entire mass to the liquid state, allowing plenty of time without keeping the honey very hot. If there is no objection to having the honey thin, it will be well to add water. Then bring up the heat until it is certain that the center is boiling, and keep up the boiling for 10 minutes. Honey thus treated ought to be safe to feed to bees. It is hardly necessary to add that if the honey is meant for win- ter food for bees, care must be taken not to scorch it, else it will be death to the bees. c. c. m. Honey Exchange for Minnesota " The Tri-State Honey Exchange " is the name of a new organization in Minnesota formed but a short time ago with L. F. Sampson as president, and P. J. Doll as secretary. Other directors are L. D. Leonard, L. M. Bussey, and Rev. Francis Jager.o The capitalization of the company is $1000, divided into shares of $10 each. The exchange states that it has for its object "to assist honey producers in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin to market their honey and obtain the highest prices, the profit of the associa- tion to go to the producer." Like alU other co-operative con- cerns, its success depends upon the support given. There is no reason why such an incoporation could not work in harmony with the National association which has the same pur- poses, the marketing of the honey- producers' crop. Miscellaneous <^ News Items Crop Reports and Prospects. — The season of r.U4 may be said to be unique in that the large proportion of reports coming of prospects previous to the opening of spring were very favorable towards at least a normal crop if not a very large one. California re- ported fine prospects, the same was true of Texas, while in the central States and in the East reports came in that clover was plentiful and that honey should be also. The fact is that these advance "dope sheets" were so alluring that many beekeepers pictured a big slump in the price of honey owing to over-produc- tion. Let the reader judge for himself as to the proportion of a normal crop as reported by some of the largest pro- ducers in all parts of the United States, men well situated to know what the crop is. We give replies received to all our letters witli reference to crops this season. They follow: At the opening of spring of :qi4 around here clover prospects were the best for many years, and with frequent rains up to July I. the plants and abundance of bloom were all we could hope for. We also had io/t/ nisht^ which prevented nectar in the bloom, and it has been rare to see a bee on either white or alsike clover bloom. Our bees were extra strong:, and we encouraged brood-rearing. When blooming season came our hives were full of bees (20 Langstroth frames.) Basswood bloom was also abun- dant, and for five days has yielded well, so that our hives are now full of honey, two to four bodies above the brood. Yesterday we extracted 2750 pounds of basswood honey from one out apiary. The other apiaries are tliesanie. Nothing more this season. These Part of the Vetter Bros, apiary near Crawford. Nebr. This country i.s>ccomine macli better for bees with increase in acreage of alfalfa. conditions are local to this part of Wiscon- '"pi ,. 1, w- , , N. E, France. Platteville. Wis.. July 12. The honey-flow has been a total failure here; have to feed to keep the bees from starving until the fall How. I have over 400 colonies, half of them are located in a goid c over district. 1 here is a lot of clover bloom and the weather has been ideal, but the hives are empty. I hope for a crop from Spanish-needle next month. Knox, Ind .July 14. F W. Luebeck. The clover honey crop was a total failure in our locality. Reports received from other points indicate thesame condition nearly all over the province, a few localities only re- porting a very light yield from clover Bass- wood looks fairly well where they have this sourceof nectar, but at best it is an uncer- tain yielder to the few localities that have enough of the trees to amount to anything Present prospects point to the lightest yield of white honey that Ontario has known for some time. i 1 n,.pr Mount Joy. Ont., July 13. ^ We give you crop reports as they have re- cently come to us; Colorado — Lower Platte Valley — Very little from first crop of alfalfa Bees are in good shape, ar.d if favorable condi- tions should prevail from now on a fair crop is possible. Vicinity of DENVER-Super work is get- ting along nicely, and some comb honey has been taken off, but as there is very much ess sweet clover than last year, the crop is likely not to be large. Fort Collins. Longmont, Boulder — Super work has almost stopped at present but it is hoped that when the second crop of alfalfa comes in bloom, it will be resumed again. Arkansas Valley - Reports from this locality are conflicting. In some places bees so far have done well, and honey has been taken off In other places not much super work is done. Montrose and Delta DisTRiCTs-But lit- tle honey in sight yet. Many bees in the or- chard districts have been poisoned byspray- ing clover beneath fruit trees. Northern New Mexico— Some honey has been taken ofT. Prospects for a good crop It is not likely that the Colorado honey crop will be as good as last year, probably two- thirds as much The quality of the honey taken off so far is fine. Colorado Honey Producers' Association. F. Rauchfuss, .l/ffr. Denver, Colo.. July 14. Your letter of July 10 asking for a report on honey conditions is received. Bees are not doing very much right now. but the sec- ond crop of alfalfa is just coming into bloom and we should have a good flow during the next six weeks if the weather is favorable. A good rain would help a great deal. I have taken off something over a ton of extracted honey and 17 cases of comb honey. Pros- pects are very poor in some districts, but about normal in others. I think we will have honey to ship this year in fair amounts, al- though we will not have more to ship than last year despite the increased number of bees. Wesley F"oster. Boulder. Colo., July 14. Late severe frosts with very hot days have cut down the alfalfa and about destroyed all bloom. The chances for a honey crop are very poor. I am feeding the bees. Halleck, Nev., June 26. J. E Patton. This section produced no surplus this season. Many colonies had to be fed after clover had been in bloom for some time, but later the tlow was heavy enough to give the bees stores to last until it will be time to weigh up and supply additional stores for winter. It is the "off year " for basswood bloom, and the heavy stand of clover produced but very little nectar on account of very un- favorable weather conditions. F,. L. Hofmann. Janesville. Minn , July 16. The honey crop in this section of Ontario will not be more than 10 percent of an avei- age crop. Some report no honey at all, others have had to feed tt) keep their bees in good condition and prevent starvation. Claude, Ont., July 17. H. G. Sibbald. The white honey crop will be very light in New ICngland. so far as I can learn— less than half an average crop. Middlebury. Vt , ,Iuly 18. J. K. Crane. The honey crop in this vicinity is rather uncertain at this date. Should the ritht August, 1914. American T^ee Journal weather conditions continue for lo to is days longer we will get a normal crop of about 50 to -5 pounds per colony. The main honey How IS on now and is heavy. A change to cool or windy weather from now on would be disastrous. Virgil Sires. North Yakima. Wash.. July 15. We have in the prairie or lime section of this State from nothing to a half crop. Some yards are a complete failure; others had showers and will possibly get a half crop. Plenty of bloom but too dry to secrete nec- tar. One of our yards did not have rain from the last week in .\pril to the last week in June. But little honey in melilotus after the month of June. W. D. Null. Demopolis. Ala.. July 16. The white honey (low of the present sea- son has yielded a fairly good average crop in this locality. With a gradual beginning of about a week from alsike clover and a taperint,' off of the same length of time from sweet clover the clover flow lasted from the middle of June until the middle of July, the heaviest How being from white clover. Up to date. luly 18. bees are still bringing in a lit- tle honey from sweet clover during the early morning and forenoon hours. The yield from better colonies is from 140 to 150 pounds of extracted honey, and quite a few of the comb-honey producers are working in their tifth and sixth supers LaSalle. N. Y. G. C. Greiner. We do not feel that we will have to resort to feeding just yet. though we may have to later on. We have not taken ofif any honey yet. and will not likely as the clover is dry- ing up. In fact, the clover has not been much at any time, and basswood has not yielded anything beyond what the bees used. Colo. Iowa. July 15. F.W.Hall. The season opened early and well, with the bees getting much early pollen and suth- cient honey to .make them breed rapidly. The result was more swarms than we have had in several years. Unluckily the season did not prove so good all through. At this date we might estimate the honey produc- tion at 75 percent of normal in quantity and 85 percent in qualitv. H. C. Barron. Ilagerman, New Mexico. It is too early yet to make a definite report. Reports from my men in Idaho and Utah. 10 days ago. indicated very poor prospects. But since, the bees are gathering honey. I es- timate from one-half to three-fourths of a normal crop, but conditions could change yet for better or for worse. N. E. Miller. Logan. Utah. July 14. Our crop has been a short one, about one- half a normal crop, and practically all the honey is now sold. In the extreme south tlie season is not over until November, as we usually get a crop of fine white honey in the ,■}• „ „ Grant Anderson San Benito. Tex.. July 15. We always have a good honey crop in the Imperial Valley. What we call a poor year gives us better than the average of the State. My yield this year will probably be 20 percent above normal. On account of a steady increase in the number of bees here, the amount of honey shipped from the val- ley will show a greater increase. I have in- creased from 720 to 1000 colonies this season. Brawley. Calif.. July 14. J. Edgar Ross. All southern California sections are under half crop. Ventura and Santa Barbara counties about one fourth yield I think you can safely put the southern California crop at 40 percent of normal. Northern Califor- nia is backward and too eaily to report on crop. Prices are dull. Honey is of ex- cellent quality. See my department. Orange. Calif.. July is. J, E. Pleasants. Up to July 1. the prospects were the worst they have been for four years; since then they have been fair. Will have one-third to one-half crop, depending upon the weather. Nampa. Idaho. July 17. L. C. McCarty. Conditions are about normal here. Bees are self sustaining now. and possibly stor- ing a little. The crop this year was about 75 percent, the shortage being caused by high winds in the midst of the flow. S. S. Alderman. Wewahitchka. Fla.. July 16. Let not the reader be led to the con- clusion, from the above reports, that the crop is very short. Fact is, many of the localities are yet to have a part of their flow, while some of the locali- ties which report a fair to average flow are among those which furnish the largest quantities of honey for the market. We sincerely believe that the short- age of honey in some localities this season, however, will in part make up for the large crop of the season pre- vious, so that the honey market may remain stable. By this we do not mean that the producer should hold his honey for a higher price. Sell your honey just as quickly as you can get it oflF of your hands (this applies every year), but do not let it go at a sacrifice. Study your own local conditions, the conditions of the honey crop, the con- ditions of the honey market, set your prices accordingly, and then sell what you have as fast as you can. Meeting ot Massachusetts Beekeepers. —A joint annual Field Day meeting of the Worcester County Beekeepers' As- sociation and Eastern Massachusetts Society of Beekeepers is to be held at the home of O. F. Fuller, Blackstone St., Blackstone, Mass., Aug. 8, 1914, under the auspices of the State Board of Agriculture. Program as follows: 12:00 m.— Basket luncheon. Coffee served by the associations. I ;oo p.m.— Address by Hon. Wilfred Whee- ler, of Concord. Mass.. Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. " Massachusetts as a Honey Producing State." Address— Dr. Burton N. Gates, of Amherst. Mass. Bee Disease Demonstrations by John L. Byard and Dr. Burton N. Gates. Masssachu- setts Agricultural College. 17. Materials for Beekeepers. .Simple and indispensable ap- paratus will be explained. />. The Manipu- lation of Bees. Instructions for operatinga colony. !. The ShakingTreatment for Brood Diseases of Bees. These demonstrations will utilize living bees and essential appa- ratus. Address by .'Arthur C. Miller, of Provi- dence. R. I. Address by A. W. Yates, of Hartford. Conn. — " Bees a Necessity in Kruit Growing." Address by E. F. Tuttle. of Woonsocket. R. I- — " Beekeeping in Early Days." Remarks by distinguished apiarists pres- ent. Exhibition— Beekeepersare urged to make displays. Queen bees. Bees by the pound. A full program! Live bees! Live beekeepers ! Everybody come. Ladies especially invited. Trains to Blackstone may be reached from Boston by the New Haven road. Leaves Boston at 8 :00 o'clock a.m. and 8:2.5 a.m. Leaves Boston at 4:30 p.m. Trains leave Providence R. L, for Blackstone every hour. Trains leave Worcester for Black- CORNER OF AN APIARV OF 700 LOG HiVES AT A MONASTEY IN RUSSIA. 262 August, 1914. American Sae Journal stone at 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., also by electrics. Return to Worcester 4:48 and 6:-i7 p.m., also by electrics. Blackstone may he reached by trolley from Boston via of Dedham and Frank- lin. It takes about '2',i hours from Dudley street. The best automobile route is via Dedham and Franklin. Eastern Massachusetts Society of Beekeepers, T. J. Hawkins, President. Acting Secretary, 4 Emery St., Everett, Mass. Worcester County Beekeepers' Asso- ciation, O. F. Fuller, President, Black- stone, Mass. I. S. Whittemore, Secretary, Leices- ter, Mass. -♦^ Native vs. Foreign Bees. — The fol- lowing letter, copied from the British Bee Journal of June 25, is quite signifi- ' cant. Its author is evidently referring to European foulbrood : " For the benefit of your readers I should like to give my experiences with native and foreign races of bees. I am located in a district infected with foulbrood, and for a nu.nber of years my apiary has not been free from it. I have wasted gallons of Izal and tried every known specific to cure or check it, burning on an average three colo- nies every season, only to find the dis- ease triumphant the following spring. I had often read of the greater immu- nity from disease of the Italian and Carniolan bee, so I 'etermined to give them a trial. Two years ago I intro- duced several queens of both races. I put some of them into colonies which were more or less affected with the disease. One case is worthy of special mention. Into one colony very badly affected I put a golden Italian queen, which, owing to bad weather, was rather long in getting mated. "When brood appeared, I was grati- fied to see a uniform mass of pearly- white grubs without the slightest signs of disease. I closed down the liive strong in bees, with a sufficiency of stores, and waited with some anxiety the coming of the following spring to see whether the cure was perm inent or not. The month of April revealed solid slabs of brood, which were a delight to look at, every cell containing an absolutely healthy grub. The colony developed into one of hurricane strength, and gave me almost 100 beau- tiful sections. The beauty of the bees, and the immense number were a mar- vel to all beekeepers who saw them. " I should also say that every colony headed by a foreign queen proved healthy, and remained so up to the tin'e of writing, despite the fact that they were all put into more or less affected hives. Let me turn to colo- nies headed by native or black queens. I had only two swarms last year, both from natives. I noticed slight traces of disease in one of them, which failed to requeen. Now for the sequel. I introduced a black virgin, which I got from a friend about a fortnight after the swarm issued. In due course she mated and commenced laying. You will observe they were treated almost similarly to the colony into which the golden Italian virgin was introduced. More than three weeks elapsed from the removal of the laying queen until ny eggs were deposited in either hive. The golden Italian headed a colony of bees of which any one might be proud, while the native black is today at the head of a rotten and dwindling handful of bees. But I am not yet finished. The other colony of natives which swarmed, and which at the time ap- peared quite healthy, came out this spring in a worse and weaker state than the aforementioned, and was de- stroyed some time ago. "I have unfortunately still 7 colonies of blacks, 5 of which were diseased, while every one of the 12 colonies headed by Italian and Carniolan queens is healthy and very strong. "The native bee has its good quali- ties, and succeeds very well in districts free from disease, but where such abounds it is helpless and a source of contagion. In face of an experience such as mine, I consider it rank heresy to advocate sticking to blacks under every condition." — Cruickshank, Gran- ton-on-Spey. 9, 1914, has an article on the prepara- tion of beeswax, in which it is shown that the total exports of beeswax from India during the official year 1912 13, amounted to 7648 hundredweight (hun- dredweight = 112 pounds), amounting in value to $22-3,822, which was consid- erably below the normal vo'ume and value of exports. Almost all of this beeswax was exported to the United Kingdom and to Germanv, the former during 1912-13 taking 3340 hundred- weight and the latter 2.580 hundred- weight, and Belgium, France, and the United States taking most of the bal- ance. It is stated that the beeswax export- ed from India is the product of three species of wild bees found mostly in mountainous and hilly districts in Ben- gal, Assam, the United Provinces, Pun- jab, southern India and Burma. — C. S. Consular Rc-p07-t. Indian Exports of Beeswax — The In- dian Trade Journal in its issue of April Willie Wants to Know "Ma." "What is it, Willie ?" " Is a 'sweet tooth' a tooth from a honey-comb ?" Bee-Keeping ^ For Women Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo. 111. Equalizing Colonies In reading the contributions of that interesting Canadian, J. L. Byer, it is often a matter of congratulation to find that we in Marengo are following so closely the practices he follows. In- deed, it rarely happens that there is any difference to be found, and when that does happen, it may be worth while to discuss it, albeit with nothing but the kindest feelings toward Mr. Byer, for it is quite possible that a face-to-face conference would show the difference much less than appears on the surface. On page 232 of the Bee Journal for July, he says: "As a general rule it is not good policy to do equaliz- ing before clover flow." Practice here is far from agreeing with that. The first show of any flow from white clover this year was June 6, and the record- book shows that there was no equaliz- ing after May 18. 19 days before the clover flow, and 9 days before the very first clover blossom was seen. All the equalizing that was done— and a good deal of it was done— was done before May 18. Indeed a look at the record of the first score of colonies shows that in all but two cases the equalizing was done no later than May 4. Mr. Byer is quite right in saying " weak colonies never want for brood provided the queen is in normal con- dition, and to give more brood to such colonies would be simply making the situation worse instead of improving it." That's true; if the bees have all the brood they can cover, how can they cover anymore? But there is a vast difference in the kind of brood. One frame may be filled with brood that is all, or nearly all, sealed and another with eggs and very young brood. The former will turn into active bees two weeks sooner than the latter, and it takes no more bees to cover sealed brood than unsealed and eggs. So a frame of mostly young brood in a weak colony may be exchanged for one two weeks more advanced, to the great benefit of the weak colony. That form of equalizing is, however, not often practiced here; this year not at all. A quicker and easier way is used. As already said, the weak col- ony has already all the brood it can keep warm, and to give it more will only be to have it c lilled. Well, then, take enough bees with the brood to keep it warm, and the trouble will be remedied. That's exactly what we do, and with a few precautions there is never any trouble. " Even when the clover comes on I would not think of doctoring up very weak colonies at the expense of stronger ones, as it would be a losing game." That's generally true— perhaps always true, and too much emphasis cannot be placed on the unwisdom of trying to strengthen a weakling by tak- ing from othercolonies that have noth- ing to spare. And when the flow is on it's the strong colonies that count, just as Mr. Byer says. Better double up the weak colonies, and have fewer col- onies and more bees, than to strengthen them by reducing other colonies below the effective working point. But strengthening them before the flow, is August, 1914. American Bcc Joarnajj quite another thing, and at that time no colony is too weak to be worth strengthening if it has a good queen, /rdrvi/ti/ all other colonies are suffi- ciently strong — to be more specific, provided other colonies have not less than 5 or (3 frames of brood eacli. And in this connection may be given the invariable rule, that the iL'cakcsl colonies arc the /as/ to be s/renjft/ioiecl. We do not always have it so, but this year there were a good many colonies with all the brood that would go into one story, and they divided with their weaker neighbors, and when all but one or two weaklings were left it was an easy thing to bring up a 2- ftame concern to full strength at once. As a matter of fact we had few or no colonies very weak this year, and about the middle of May each colony had a second story given. Some started brood in the second story ; some didn't. But as already said, a personal con- ference with Mr. Byer might show that under the same circumstances there might be little difference of opinion. Beginning With Bees— Danger of Stings, Etc. Is there danger of being stung ? A gentleman told my husband that some- times one could not prevent a person from being stung, even with veils and gloves. This has prevented him from trying to keep bees. He is an old gen- tleman ; is about to be pensioned, in another year, by the railroad, and we thought he could make some money with bees, but we will have to move first, for this place is too small. I want to move to Riverton, and am going next week to look at a place, where he can make a little and help along with expenses. Can you help us in this ? M. H. Brown. Merchantville, N. J. It is a mistake to suppose that one cannot protect oneself against stings. The most indispensable thing is the veil, and most beekeepers are satisfied with a smoker and a veil, while many do with the smoker alone. To be sure, there are bees so gentle that with care- ful handling one can even get along without a smoker, but generally the smoker is used. The purpose of the veil is to protect all parts of the head and neck that are usually e.xposed. One good way of making a veil is to take cape net or similar open material of black color, soak the starch out of it, se.v it in the form of a bag open at each end, with a rubber cord shirred into each end; slip the veil over the hat, the one rubber cord being at the hat-band while the other is stretched down in ironX I'oy lii'/i//y ^nA pinned with a safety-pin to vest, suspender, or other part of the clothing. Different kinds of gloves may be used. Rubber ones are good but un- comfortable. Hog-skin gloves are good, although not very fragrant. Other leather may be used. Two thick- nesses of heavy cotton will do. A pair of old shirt-sleeves may be attached to the gloves at the wrists and fastened on the arms. Thus protected, the op- erator is safe against voluntary attacks, but sometimes bees on the ground may crawl up the legs and sting when A. H Fralick in Hi.s Apiary at Homer, Minn. pinched. To avoid this tie strings about the trouser-legs at the ankles; better still, use bicycle clips, or trouser- guards, such as bicyclists use. There is a difference in bees as to their stinging. Some are so cross that veil and gloves are needed, even with plenty of smoke. Others are so gentle that they may be handled with- out either smoke or veil, if one makes slow movements and is careful not to handle frames roughly or jar the hive. After a little familiarity with bees, your husband will likely not mind a few stings, and the more he is stung the less effect the poison will have. The probability is that you may be able to handle bees as well as he. You say you will have to move to a larger place. If you have a place large enough to set the hives, that's all you want. The bees forage in a'l direc- tions, and a small place should do you as well as a large one. How Many Supers ? "Many men of many minds." On page 233 of the American Bee Journal for July, Mr. Wilder says : "The great trouble with the average beekeeper is he hasn't supers enough." Eight pages farther along, Mr. Greiner says that " to make bees do their best, no more than two supers must be allowed to be on a hive at a time." It would no doubt be an enjoyable thing if we could have the two men discuss fully their differ- ent view points. Mr. Wilder does not give very fully his reason for thinking that the average beekeeper does not have supers enough. Mr. Greiner is more explicit in saying why two supers at a time is enough. Yet it must be said that in this quarter the usual prac- tice is more in accord with the Dixie man. Of course, Mr. Greiner is no novice, and it may be that for him two supers work all right, but it is a little difficult to see just how we could get along here with never more than two supers at a time. He says, "Three, four, five, and even more supers on a hive scatter the working forces over too much territory, which discourages them, and produces 'loafing.'" The count of supers on our hives July 3, showed that quite a number of hives had on them five supers each, and a few six. To be sure, the top supers in many cases are empty, and would remain so until put down in the lowest place, but there were also quite a number of these top supers into Mr. Geo. Seastrea.m in His Apiary at I'awnee. III. He has nearly 200 colonies, and winters liis bees in the cellar. 264 August, 1914. American Hee Journal which the bees had entered and begun work. It would hardly appear that the forces were so scattered as to become discouraged when they would begin work in a fifth super, empty, and o« to/i. Mr. Greiner says "they must be crowd- ed onto the foundation." That is just what seems to have been the case. Moreover, the crops of honey we get hardly warrant the belief that our bees are too much scattered and discour- aged. One can but wonder what those bees would do if the only room they had was two supers, when they are crowded to overflowing in five or more supers ! pictured and recommended in one of the Government bulletins, and for the man with a small number of hives to treat is just the thing, as there is no danger of damaging nice new bee- hives with too much fire. Conducted by Wesley Foster, Boulder. Colo. Making Increase The making of increase by the Alex- ander plan did not work quite so well this year as in 1913. There is a ques- tion whether early in the season is the best time to make increase. It is all right if the colonies can all be brought up to honey gathering strength in time for the main flow. But this cannot be foretold definitely. Increase can be made in August after it is seen that the flow is good, and such increase in most cases will be ready for good win- tering, and if not in the best condition it can be prepared for good wintering by giving brood and honey. In August I take out combs of ma- ture and hatchingbees from those colo- nies that can well spare them, putting them into my new hives for increase. I plug the entrances with grass for sev- eral days. The grass generally wilts and lets the bees out in that time any- way. Then the bees, or most of them, stay in the new location. If the flow late in the season is good, three frames with a queen-cell or virgin queen will make a colony to winter, but if by Sept. 15 they are not strong enough I take out more brood and hatching bees and strengthen them further from populous colonies. In this way I give some of my strong colonies room for the queen to do more laying. Honey Crop Conditions The sweet clover along the lower Platte valley was mostly killed by the high water, so that prospects are not very favorable there. The first crop of alfalfa was cut early, an I unless the second crop does something there will not be much of a crop gathered in that part of the State. The lull be- tween first and second crops of alfalfa has been longer than usual in Boulder county, and some of our bee-men are rather discouraged. The crop here will not likely be as large per colony as last year, but there are more bees to gather it. The quality is very fine, however, thanks to the hot weather we have had, which ripens the honey so well. * ■ » Disinfecting Hives and Supers Mr. John T. Greene says, on page 237 of the July American Bre Journal, that disinfecting with the blue flame blow torch is primitive, slow, and not so good as his method. Perhaps it is primitive and slow, but the work done by the blue flame torch cannot be im- proved upon if in the hands of a good workman. The blue flame torch will reach the cracks and corners better than the method described by Mr. Greene, and I have used Mr. Greene's method on hundreds of hives. The torch method of disinfection is Odor of American Foulbrood Mr. E. G. Carr says that he has not found a case of American foulbrood in New Jersey,the odor of which could be detected a few feet from the hive. The case is very different in Colorado. The odor of American foulbrood is notice- able 10 to 20 feet from badly diseased hives on hot summer days. Many cases have been detected before ever touch- ing a hive or cover. The odor is hard to describe, and the word of people unfamiliar with the dis- eaae is likely to describe it closer than the description of the beeman. A good rich case of American foulbrood in Colorado smells very much "dead" and " decaying " according to several people I have asked. It has of course a distinctive odor different from a de- caying mass of dead bees. Apiary of J. E. Miller, of Caldwell. Idaiio. Note the cement cover on the fourth liive in front row. " It never blows oiT." Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J Wilder. Cordele. Ga. Roaclies and Motlis Mr. Wii.nFR: — There are a lot of roaches in my bee-hives, and they eat considerable honey. Also, I am trou- bled with the moth. How can I rid my bees of these pests? I would like to get Italian bees. What is your advice in this matter ? It has not rained here in four months, and I have had to feed all the time to keep my bees from dwindling. Could I sow buckwheat or something else for them during such a honey famine ? A. S. Inclin. Cottage Hill, Fla. Roaches are a great nuisance some- times about an apiary here in the South. They get in the honey house and do nearly as much harm as mice in destroying things, besides falling into honey. Vou can't keep them out, for they squeeze in and cut their way through almost any place. They do I August, 1914. American Tiee Journal not stay much in a house or room that is occupied by people or stock, but once they get started they will soon take possession of a remjte room or house containing plunder or storing room of any kind. In small colonies there will be about as many roaches as bees in the hives and around them, and they consume as much honey, if not more, than the bees, and they, too, will gnaw away the comb. The bees seem to treat them as their neighbors or friends, and not as their foes, and live together in peace. The roaches, as a rule, do not stay right in the cluster of bees, but around in the corners of the hives and places where the bees cannot go, keeping such places open so the bees cannot close them up. I am at a loss to give a remedy or plkn that will destroy this pest except just killing them as you find them, but I do know that though they may popu- late a place ever so much, they will after a while disappear entirely, and possibly for several years not one will be seen. Mr. J. M. Roach, a beekeeper of Daisy, Ga., and another species of the " roach " family, says " that he could not get along in his bee-business with- out roaches, for his wife and children take an active part with him." Some ■ beekeepers claim that the roaches con- sume but very little honey during win- ter, and that they help the bees in small colonies to maintain heat. It is much easier to get rid of bee- moths. Weak colonies should never be allowed to have more comb than they can occupy, for it is in this outside or unoccupied comb that the moths de- velop. Such comb should be removed and set in a hive-body and placed over a strong colony when there is no honey-flow; but early in the spring and during the honey-flow these frames of comb can be exchanged for frames of brood, and in this way weak colonies may be built up to normal. It would not be advisable to plant anything for your bees, for it would surely fail during such a drouth. If it had not been so dry you would at least have had nectar enough coming in to prevent starvation. You acted wisely by feeding. As soon as your bees start building up again, you might introduce some Italian queens, but not at present, for you may have some losses from the run down condition. Cleaning Out Combs The cut here shown illustrates how I have my combs cleaned of honey after extracting. These combs are placed back in the supers and then set out in the open at the edge of the apiary, just a few steps from the extracting room. They are set on ends, so if it rains the water will not fill the combs. During a sultry day the bees will not make much headway cleaning them because the adhering honey is very thick and gummy, but during the night the damp cool atmosphere will soften it and it is all quickly removed by the bees next morning. I have practiced this for years, and no trouble by robbing has ever oc- curred, although there are over 100 WiLDER's Method of Cleaning Up Combs. colonies in this yard, and sometimes a number of weak ones. This keeps them busy, and they never "nose" or bother about the extracting house, the doors of which are sometimes left open for an hour or more. They seem not to see or think of anything except these supers. They never tear down any comb in these supers. This picture was taken early one morning, just after they had left them. No bees are around them, and a team is driven right up to them and they are loaded on. This might appear as a bad practice and dangerous to under- take on account of robbing, etc. I don't think it would be if they were started early in the spring while the honey flow was yet on, and kept up until all extracting was done. It is surely not any more dangerous than giving the wet combs back to the bees directly. This is certainly convenient, and if the supers set out several days, there will be but little danger from the moth. While I am on this subject let me say that as I was looking over one of my apiaries with my apiarist, I found a frame of comb left out leaning beside a hive, and it contained considerable honey. I asked him how that hap- pened, and he said he overlooked it while manipulating frames, but, said I, " Why didn't the robber.^ take to it ?" He stated that on the week before lie left a super of honey setting on end J. J. WiLDER's Mountain Home. 2CG American Vee Journal out among the hives, which he over- looked while working in a great hurry, and that on his return five days later he found it and another frame of honey near by, and that it was unmolested by robbers. I also found that another one of my apiarists had raised the cov- ers of the hives over one inch for ven- tilation, thus exposing honey, and it had not induced robbing. I thought this remarkable and worth relating. [It is well to tell the beginners that such things happen only during a heavy harvest. Bees seem to prefer the nectar of flowers to honey already gathered. — Editor.] Our Mountain Home The cottage here shown is the writ- er's summer home at Mountain City, Ga., located on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is here I expect to spend the remaining summers of my life. We have a natural gap through the mountains known as Roburn Gap, throu4h which runs a railroad. The mountain views from the slo v going train are perhaps not excelled any- where. The fresh pure, cool mountain air is always circulating, making the summer climate ideal, the thermome- ter registering close to 90 degrees all the time. The pure cool mountain spring water is abundant everywhere. Delicious fruits of almost all kinds are plentiful. Just at the rear of my cot- tage I have a small orchard which supplies us with fruit, and at the rear of this rolls up Massingale Mountain to a height of about 4000 feet. It has a bald peak where the writer spends many pleasant hours enjoying the sur- rounding mountain and valley scenery. Apiary Work It is not the time of the season yet to slack up on apiary work, but if it has been well kept up from early spring a week's vacation could be taken and en- joyed. We have not ceased apiary work, such as requeening, making increase, building up the weaker colonies, and getting all ready for the summer flow. In fact, we have done this all along while taking off honey, and we have every colony in fine trim for the flow, which is now on. If other beekeepers have not done this they should do it at once, in order to harvest some honey at the end of the summer flow and be prepared for the fall flow, and get in good condition for winter. In the great cotton belt supers should be cleaned and prepared, using full sheets of foundation in frames or sections. The Crop and Market As a whole the spring crop of honey has been about an average in Dixie, and naturally the market is a little dull at this lime. Many beekeepers hav; still considerable honey on hand un- sold, and are offering it a few cents be- low the usual price. This is a mistake, for it does not increase the sales, and a little later, when the market is more open, it will move at the regular prices. There is no use to lower prices when the market is dull. Let the supply mpve some and you will get your price. There has been a large crop of honey gathered in the mountain sections. This is the cause of the dullness of the market. This home supply will soon be gone. Conducted by J. L. Byer. Mt. Joy. Ontario. Prospects Not the Best July 13, and hardly a pound of clover honey in the supers, and the clover is through blooming for the season. Briefly, this sums up the situation in this section, and from reports received from other localities, I fear things are not much better in many places in the province. Basswood may yield some honey in some localities, but as it is not open yet no definite information will be available for 10 days at least. We look for none from that source here in York county, owing to scarce- ness of trees, and from the fact that not half of the trees we have are going to bloom this year. At the north yard the prospects for basswood are fair, and we are hoping that some nectar will come from the bloom, so that we will at least have some white honey. At opening of clover bloom the hives were heavy with honey gathered from hard maple, many colonies having from 10 to 25 pounds of this honey in the supers. If the hives were all weighed today, I doubt if they would average as heavy as they did a month ago, even if not a pound of this early honey was extracted. This will give the readers an idea as to what a dearth of nectar we have had. There was not a day during clover bloom that one could open hives for any length of time with- out robbers nosing around. Prospects are on an average for a buckwheat flow, provided we get some showers, but at the best in our locality we ex- pect little more than enough for winter stores. The failure of the clover crop nat- urally hits the man hard who is de- pending upon bees alone for a living, and in seasons like this the man so situated wishes he had a few acres of garden truck to put his time in, and incidentally bring enough money to pay expenses, but in seasons like last year he would not be able to attend to any other kind of work, and with labor hard to secure, it is quite a problem as to just what course to take. One thing is sure, the men who have more than one string to their bow will, this sea- son at least, have reason to be thank- ful. While things look blue just at pi es- ent for the specialist beekeeper, we should not forget the business is an uncertain one, and seasons like the present have occurred before and will come again. One redeeming feature of the present situation is that many who have seen visions of "easy money " in beekeeping will now know by actual experience, which is a better teacher than rosy pictures of the busi- ness, that there are two sides to the question, and even if in some years the colonies do yield comparatively large returns for capital invested, seasons like the present help to materially pull down the average of profits. In many parts of Ontario people have gone " bee crazy," and the sale of beekeepers' supplies has reached enor- mous proportions. If conditions are at all general over Ontario, as I have reason to believe, I venture to say that 75 percent of the foundation, hives, etc., that have been purchased have not been used, and will be carried over until another year. Rearing Queens and Requeening Having little to do in the line of work that comes along with the honey flow, my intentions were to try and rear a few queens for home use. But the weather has been so changeable, and the dearth of nee tarso pronounced, that nothing has been done at this dale (July 13). With the bees dragging out the drones, prospectsfor queen-rearing are not very good to the novice in the business, and I feel like waiting until buckwheat starts to bloom, hoping that it will do enough better than the clover to allow one to work in comfort among the bees. During buckwheat bloom is a splen- did time to do requeening, no matter if you buy or rear your queens, and any failing queens, or queens old enough to be likely to fail next spring, should at this time be superseded, if not earlier in the season. Odor of American Foulbrood After reading what E. G. Carr has to say about the odor of the two kinds of foulbrood, page 236 of the American Bee Journal for July, I think his olfac- tory nerves are all right. Certainly I found, as he says, that in well devel- oped cases of luiropean foulbrood one could smell the characteristic oder some distance from the hives, and only once can I recollect anything like that with American foulbrood. In that particular instance, a whole apiary of about (10 colonies was simply rotten with American foulbrood, the owner having ignorantly spread brood from diseased colonies into others early in the season. The glue pot odor could be smelled any place in the yard if on the windward side, but that is the only time I can recollect anything like it. Unquestionably, in Ontario at least, European foulbrood has a decidedly uastv odor. American Hee Jonrnal The good point made by Mr. Carr is mentioning that larvae dying from American foulbrood almost invariably lie on the lower cpll wall, while those dying from European foulbrood are in any shape. It is o//c of the real differ- ences between the two diseases. The sine test for .American foulbrood is the ropiness of the dead larv.e. VVhen the ropiness is pronounced, you ca i safely diagnose it as a case of .Ameri- can foulbrood. Toronto Beekeepers' President It is my pleasure to know Mr. Chap- man, president of the Toronto Bee- keepers' .Association, and I would en- dorse what Secretary Hopper says about him. One thing Mr. Hopper has not mentioned, and this omission has something to do in explaining the good meetings, good order at such meetings, etc. While Mr. Chapman is a first-rate beekeeper, this calling is a side line with him, as he is police in- spector of the city of Toronto. See the point ? The members just have to be good, or else Mr. Chapman would trot them all off to the police court. Protecting Supers in a Dull Season Last year at this time it was a prob- lem to get enough supers to accom- modate the bees, as the good flow of nectar gave little time to do any ex- tracting. This year it is a problem to care for the supers so that moths do not achieve their destructive work. Many of our super combs have pollen in them, and while little evidence of the moth has appeared yet, one has to be careful to guard against the pests, and it is surprising how much damage can be done in a short time when once they get started. If one has fairly tight boxes in which to store the combs, prevention is very easy. A small quantity of carbon bi- sulphide will destroy eggs and larvse if already present, and as long as there is any odor of the drug among the combs no moth will venture in, even if the box is open enough to admit them. Of course, one can pile up the supers over the colonies, but when expecting a light flow of only a super or two at the most, as we do from buckwheat, it is a nuisance to have an over abun- dance of room for the bees. But no matter what course you pursue, do not allow the moths lo destroy the combs, as ready drawn combs ar^' as good as cash to the beekeeper, and even if not used this year, will likely be handy at some future time. Advertising Honey What you say, Mr. Editor, on page 226 regarding the matter of advertis- ing honey is interesting reading. The conversation you had with the gentle- man in the diner, and the examples I'e gives by way of illustrating the value of advertising, emphasize what many of us have claimed. " Postum " and "Spearmint Gum" which he mentions, are articles of which the selling price is very much more than the cost of production. That is the difficulty we are up against. If an article costs us 2 cents, and we could by advertising sell it for 25 cents, what a fund we could put in for advertising. I believe that honey can be adver- tised profitably, but never as profitably as " Spearmint Gum " or ' Postum." By the way, is that not a mistake in figures when $-J0O0 is mentioned as the annual expenditure for advertising "Postum ?" I had been led to believe that one or two ciphers should be added to that figure, and I expect the latter sum would be nearer the mark. Characteristic Southern California S( enerv-Sages in the Foreground. Caufornia ^ Bee-I^eping Conductrd by J. E. Pleasants. Oranfe. Calif. Honey Crop Small, But Excellent The season, which has been most un- certain, is now sufficiently advanced to give an idea of the crop. A conserva- tive estimate from many different sources gives the honey product slightly under a half crop. We have alternated between failure and success so long that it has been a very difficult season to report. There have been times when the outlook was flattering. Then there would be an abrupt change in the weather and for a time we would think we were in for a total failure. Then things would look up again. The condition of apiaries in different localities has been variable, excellent reports from some and very discourag- ing news from others. The press, get- ting some reports from those who were doing well and were of course optimis- tic, published glowing accounts of a great harvest. We are great on that sort of thing in southern California. But it sometimes does harm, and in this case these reports and those of others who should know better have done much to weaken prices. I refer to the exaggerated editorials of the Western Honey Bee. This our only bee journal in California, is now edited by a man who it would appear is more interest 'd on the side of the buyer than the producer. It is cer- tainly not pleasing the beekeepers at large. The Executive Board of the State Association has made a grave mistake in their selection thi-; time. Our crop is small, our honey is of ex- cellent quality, white and water-white, of a heavy body predominate, and the highest prices buyers are quoting to us so far are G cents for water-white, .5 '4 for white, and 5 for amber. So far I have heard of but few sales, and I be- lieve all the large apiarists will hold their honey until prices advance. Mr. M. H. Mendelson, our leading beekeeper, in answer to an inquiry about the crop, June 22, s.-5ys : "The season has been a disappointment. Only about one fourth crop with me. (Ventura Co., Calif.) The we:'ther has been unusually cool. It is an off year. At the coast it is almost a failure." Some other localities report some better. My county (Orange) has slight- ly under a half crop. Quantity and Quality of Eucalyptus Honey In reply to question regarding the quantity and quality of eucalyptus honey, I will quote Mr. Roy K. Bishop, 268 August, 1914. American Vee Journal Horticultural Commissioner for Or- ange Co., Calif., who is also a bee- keeper of experience. He reports on four species only — E. globulus, our com- mon blue gum (very useful for fuel), I'., fobusla, E. coiynocalyx, sugar gum, and E. rastrata, red gum. He says: " All four varieties are heavy nectar producers. Probably blue gum arid yolutsta are the best. These come in the fall and winter, so that bees are much benefited in stimulating early breeding. The honey is poor for table use, dark and of rank flavor. There may be others that would produce a good grade of honey, but all we have here of any quantity are not the proper varieties." Mr. Bishop does not think it profit- able to plant eucalyptus for honey alone, but that the trees are of much value for many other purposes and the honey yield would be a clear gain. My idea also is that, as they are of great value as shade trees, for fuel, wind- breaks, fence posts, etc., and many spe- cies very ornamental, they would be a distinct asset on our mountain bee ranches, and would be both useful and ornamental to cover much waste land Also, we should try more of the differ- ent species. Some years ago an Australian bee- keeper visited our section. He said the species called there "yellow box" was their main source of honey supply, and that the honey was good. There is some confusion of names here among the writers of eucalyptus, so it is very hard to be sure of some species. Prof. McClotchin, whose work is good, speaks of a "yellow box" as /■',. mel/io- eiora, or the honey-scented gum. I have four species which are all heavy nectar producers on dry land — blue gum, sugar gum, a species of iron bark and the leucoxylon rosea. The last is a decidedly ornamental tree with rose-colored blossoms. Sages and Other Honey Plants Abound in the Foothills. Notes From ^ Ab r oad By C. P Dadant. Zug, on the lake of the same name, a few miles north of the famous Rigi, is one of the prettiest cities in Switzer- land. An unpleasant occurrence hap- pened there in 1887. A part of its quay or wharf sunk into the lake, with a number of buildings. An inscri|)tion on the lake shore commemorates the unfortunate event. In the descriptions furnished by the tourist guides, we find the following: " At Rosenberg, I'i minutes from the city, on the east slope, is a noted museum of apiculture." An old beekeeper living at Mettmen- stetten, who is also a cutler, Mr. Huber to whom we had been recommended by our Langres friend, Mr. Beligne, came to meet us at Zug, and with him we called upon Dr. Theiler, who keeps the museum above mentioned. He has some 40 colonies of bees, all in Burki- Jecker hives, arranged in his bee-house like so many doors to a closet. Here I found the first of the famous Rassen- zucht or race selection of German Switzerland. Three or four different races were shown me. The selection is simply a production segregation made by4)reeding drones and queens from select colonies of native bees in breeding apiaries or mating stations located where bees are scarce. It is said that the breeders of Rassenzucht depend upon a 2 kilometer isolation. This isaltogether too little. Mr.Theiler acknowledged to me that drones can and do easily travel 4 kilometers, aside of the distance the queen may span herself. Their largest breeding apiary produced 224 queens in the season. I gained but littlefaith in the Rassen- zucht, for not only they show a less average of yield than in western Switz- erland, but bees of this selection, car- ried into the Canton of Neuchatel, side by side wifh the Italian hybrids of that region, showed no superiority in the surplus yield, according to statements made to me by reliable men. However, the lower average crop of German Swiss beekeepers may be ascribed to the exiguity of their hives, which can- not be enlarged, either in the brood- chamber or in the super, beyond the size of the original receptacles. To secure a large crop of honey it becomes necessary to remove sections or ex- tracting frames as fast as filled. None of our beekeepers would consider this practical. A house apiary, to become thoroughly serviceable, should permit the storifying of hives, to at least their normal capacity. This assertion may not be appreciated by those of our European friends who do not use ex- pansible hives, but it is nevertheless based upon long experience. I do not wish to be understood as condemning the Rassenzucht, for it is in the line of progress. But it will take the selection of many successive gen- erations of the best honey-producing bees to reach a positive result. But most beekeepers, even among the critics of the German enthusiasts, rec- ognize that, sooner or later, a wise selection will bring visible improve- ment. Mr. Theiler gave me a suggestion, on the May disease, which may be worth enquiring into. He attributes it to the consumption by the adult bees of an excess of pollen and perhaps moldy or unhealthy pollen. Someday, some one will ascertain the exact cause. Mr. Theiler mentioned 2330 meters (about 7700 feet) as the highest altitude at which bees were known to gather honey. This agreed with similar re- marks made by Mr. Gubler and others. I wonder how this would compare with the honey-producing altitudes of the United States ? Many of the best honey- yielding plains of Colorado and moun- tain States are above 5000 feet. But how far up do bees produce honey in amounts worthy of note? I was also told that the honey of high altitudes was finer, whiter, and of better flavor than from the plains, even when from the same kind of blossoms. Is this correct? The bee-museura is very interesting. I saw there a vast amount of bee-litera- ture, though, of course, mainly in Ger- man. The oldest was a book of Johan- nes Coleri, dated Kill, comprising agri- culture and horticulture with beecul- ture. There was a translation of Virgil into German, made in 1724. Numerous samples of wax scales as produced by the bees were in the ex- hibit. All were white, and Mr. Theiler American ^ee Journal I > — — — — I ^^ .--^^T^-^ confirmed my opinion that wax scales, when first exuded from the abdomen of the bee, are always of a pearly white- ness, which readily changes by contact with other objects, especially pollen dust. I saw wax works and wax paintings of the very highest finish ; among others portraits of Aristotle and Soc- rates in relief wax. I there found also that the patron saint of beekeepers is Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan in 310 A. D. An interesting statement for lovers of antiquities! From the Rosenberg one has a mag- nificent view. The little city of Zug is under your feet, the lake beyond, the mountains in the distance on all sides as well as behind. It is an orchard country, and the trees, hundreds of years old, are of great size. Our next visit, on the afternoon of the same day, was to Dr. Brunnich, our interesting contributor, a most capable microscopist. He speaks French and German with almost equal ease. He also speaks and writes English. His home isat Oberwil, a mile or two south of the city. It is reached by boat on the Lake of Zug, but we walked across the meadows and orchards from the Rosenberg. Instead of smoke, Dr. Brunnich used • a gentle water spray over the bees. It appeared to be as etlicient as smoke, and he holds that it is preferable. I saw a number of interesting things in his apiary. First of all is his method of marking the queens, described by him at the request of our subscribers on page 200 of our June number. A very small spot is dropped on the cors- let, where it dries instantly. The queen is marked either right or left or on the center as may be desired. This little red spot is quickly seen, when the comb IS raised, and helps wonderfully in find- ing her. I take pride in being able to find queens as readily as any one. But with this method of marking, there is no need of great practice. Dr. Brun- nich says that in many instances peo- ple are deceived in the results of a queen introduction because the queen introduced has not been sufficiently marked. With this method there is little room, if any, for error. Mr. Brunnich has tried the experi- ment made by others as well as by my- self of giving a natural swarm a hive entirely filled with drone-comb, to as- certain whether bees would change or rebuild the comb. The only thing they did was to narrow down the mouth of the cells to worker size, when the queen proceeded to lay worker eggs in them. This result has thus far been universal in a trial of this kind. It positively disproves the assertion that bees do tear down one kind of comb to rebuild it in another. The only in- stances of this have been where the comb was moldy or in some manner damaged. But the most interesting part of Dr. Brunnich's entertainment was his microscopical work. I was very sorry to be only a novice in microscopic studies. But I saw enough to perceive that his work is of the most accurate character. His explanation and ex- hibit of the salivary glands by magni- fied photographs were most interesting. There has long been a difference of vom SRosenberg Zug Jos. Theri.I.e'i *— Ziiff '- opinion among entomologists upon the production of the pap or royal jelly which is fed to queens during both their larval and insect life, and to the workers in the early larval stages. Cheshire, after Schiemenz and Leuck- art, held that it is produced by a pair of salivary glands which exist in the worker bee and not in the queen and drone. Others hold the view that this pap is produced by the chyle stomach of the worker bees and is properly chyle food. Dr. Brunnich has tried feeding the nurse bees with honey col- ored with lamp black, and the larval pap produced by those bees was en- tirely devoid of any dark color. He deduces, from that, that the larval food is not a production of the chyle stomach. It was our intention to go to Mett- menstetten the same evening, to the home of Mr. Huber, who had invited us beforehand and had kindly accom- panied us on this Zug visit. We, there- fore, left the Brunnich home after bid- ding adieu to the Doctor and his pleas- ant family, with an invitation to visit us in America. In less than half an hour we were at Mettmenstetten, where we spent the following day. Mr. Huber, who is, as I said, a bee- keeper and a cutler, is also a practical farmer. He was intent upon showing us the curiosities of this part of Switz- erland, and announced to us that he would take us in his carriage to some grottoes 10 miles away. We were to start early in the morning. However, as they had but one horse and his son announced to me that they had just one more wagon load of hay to bring in, as the end of the hay harvest, I took it for granted that they must first haul in the hay. But the carriage was ready and at the door before we had finished our breakfast. I said: "What about your hay ?" " Oh, they have gone after it long ago." " But I thought you had only one horse ?" "We don't haul hay with the horse; we hitch up the cows." And sure enough, in came the load of hay with two fine cows pulling it up to the barn. During that day we saw not Home of Dr. Brunnich. 270 August. 1914. American Hee Journal —v^-ii^r-'H ^aBVnps3A.a^^B^BBMHI ■Pi - 1 1 *^ •"""^ von Gugr dus A View of Ziig. only teams of cows drawing loads on the public road, but a single cow hitched to a wagon tongue intended for a team. We saw a bull and a horse hitched together and making a very fine team indeed. This was more in- teresting to us than all the grottoes. Everything is so pretty and neat, in those Swiss villages! Even the manure piles are squared and trimmed as if they had been built with a plumb and square. Apples, pears and plums are the principal crop. The fruit trees dot the fields in every direction, without any particular order, for they are hardly ever in rows. The pear crop is immense, and they make both apple cider and pear cider. The pomace is afterwards put into big casks or vats to ferment and make "schnapps" or apple-jack. Then in order that noth- ing be wasted, they press the cast-oflf pomace into round cakes that look like (i-inch sausages. These are put upon racks to dry in the sun and are used for fuel. They have the finest cattle in the world, large brown cows, that are kept in the barn and curried daily. The wages of a cow-boy are $2.00 per week and board. The young cattle and those of the cows that do not give milk are sent to the mountains for the summer. Nothing is wasted, and every inch of tillable ground is used. But what beau- tiful roads, and what a pleasure it is to travel upon them ! We spent an entire day traveling through the country with our hospitable friend. I proposed to take you as far as Zurich on this trip, but I have exceeded the limits and must put it off until next month. We took our leave of Mr. Ruber, his son and his pretty daugh- ters, and reached Zurich on the eve- ning of Aug. 23. Convention ^ Proceedings The Iowa Field Meet at Delmar Some 70 persons gathered at the Coverdale farm, near Delmar, on the morning of July 7. Tlie automobile, which is becoming a farmer's vehicle, renders such meetings much more successful than formerly. There were about ten of these gathered in the yard by II o'clock a.m. I had myself ar- rived by rail at Maquoketa, 10 miles away, the previous evening, and through thekindness of Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher, with their son Clinton as chauffeur, I had a fine ride from Maquoketa through the rich Iowa rolling plains to the place of meeting and back again. A plentiful supply of moisture had made the landscape particularly attrac- tive, for everything was green except the harvested wheat. Mr. Coverdale is a large farmer as well as an extensive beekeeper. He is one of the champions of the long ill- judged sweet clover. He considers it as the most profitable of all legumes, and his horses, hogs and cattle grow fat upon it. The accompanying picture of four clover leaves shows his pre- ferred variety of sweet clover, which is lighter in the stalk and in the leaves than the ordinary highway sweet clover. He asserts that it is also less bitter. But there is little doubt that all hay-consuming domestic animals may be readily trained to like sweet clover. As a supporting testimony to his own experience, Mr. Coverdale gave his hearers some quotations from an arti- cle in the Prairie Farmer of July 1. We reproduce the main passages of this. It is an account of the visit of over 100 Illinois farmers to the sweet clover farm of W, P. Graham, of Ro chelle : " Mr. Graham owns several farms, and the combined acreage of sweet clover on all of them totals about 500 acres. Although born and reared a country boy, Mr. Graham is one of those who returned to the soil upon finding that town life was shortening their days too rapidly. As he was about to embark in the farming business he became interested in Dr. Hopkins, methods of improving run-down land, and as that was the kind of land he had to deal with, he set the Doctor's theories to work. He also set one of his own ideas to work, that of employ- ing the rankest sweet clover, instead of some of the smaller legumes, to turn under for organic matter and nitrogen. By its judicious use in carefully ar- ranged rotations, Mr. Graham has ma- terially increased the productiveness of his land. Seeing his results, a number of his neighbors who laughed at ' Gra- ham's weeds' a few years ago, have now come to grow sweet clover as a matter of course. " Mr. Graham sows his sweet clover with oats, barley, and winter or spring wheat. A drill with seeder attachment is used, the sweet clover being sown directly in the rows with the grain. In this manner 15 pounds of sweet clover seed per acre was included with some wheat Sown last spring, and the stand seemed all that could be desired. Sweet clover was originally put to use as a soil improver on this farm, and in tell- ing his experience with it, Mr. Graham advised farmers who engaged in build- ing up worn-out soils to first apply limestone so as to grow clover and turn the leguminous crop under and to ap- ply the phosphorus when one finds that it is necessary for larger crops; but first of all get an abundance of or- ganic matter into the soil. " In addition to being a soil improver sweet clover is Mr. Graham's trump card in the beef producing game. In summer it is pastured and it is made into silage for winter feeding. At the time of this visit 63 head of cattle had been feeding on a 40-acre field of sweet clover since April I'J, and it was being cut June 10, because it had grown faster than the animals could eat it down. It was yielding at this cutting at the rate of about three-fourths of a ton per acre. This field was sown a year ago last spring with barley. It made growth 18 inches tall by Sept. 7, and was pastured 55 days, or until Nov. 1, 1913. During this 55 days 29 feeders weighing about 870 pounds at the be- ginning, grazed on this pasture and gained an average of 154 pounds apiece, or nearly 3 pounds per day. Besides the pasture these cattle had only salt and water and what straw they con- sumed from having access to a straw stack. Twenty-eight of these steers from Dec. 11 to Jan. 11 ah o made an average gain of 91 pounds per head on sweet clover silage, and ".315 pounds of ground ear corn for the lot per day. "'I wouldn't have missed that trip for a hundred dollars,' said one of the Livingston county farmers as he left Rochelle on the return trip." Mr. Coverdale has been a grower of sweet clover for 17 years. He found that it will grow where alfalfa turned yellow and died. But in order to secure August, 1914. American Hee Journal 271 the best results, it is necessary to use about two tons of crushed limestone per acre o/i all acid /mu/s. In addition to its great value as a soil restorer through the great quantity of nitrogen stored in the nodules of its roots, ex- ceeding that of any other legume crop, in addition also to its invaluable fea- turei as a honey producer, sweet clover has proven to him one of the most valuable plants for stock. As much as three cuttings are made during the sec- ond summer of its growth. One crop may be secured beforegathering a seed crop. For the latter, the crop is har- vested with a binder and the clover thrashed in similar manner to the thrashing nf red clover. An excellent dinner, profusely served at the handsome home, was offered to all visitors from away, by Mrs. Cover- dale and her daughters. Mrs. Cover- dale is as much of a beekeeper as her husband, and has often put the supers, alone, on an entire apiary. They are active, wide-awake, thrifty farmers and beekeepers. A sudden shower, late in the after- noon, put an abrupt end to the meet- ing. Luckily, it was not sufficient to impede the travel of automobiles, and the crowd was soon scattered far and wide over the rich rolling hills, hoping soon to meet again. Several leading beekeepers were present at this meet. Among them I will mention Messrs. Pellett and Sny- der, president and secretary of the Iowa Beekeepers' Association, Prof. f ^4^>f^ No. I. Yellow Sweet Clover [Mclilotus otiuhmlis). No. 2. .1/. alba. Tall Slender CovEHDALE's Choice. No. 3 l/.a/fo. Highway. More Bitter. No. 4. Alfalfa. ' Bartholomew, of Ames, and Mr. L. A. Syverud, of Canton, S. Dak. But a very interesting subiect re- mains for me to treat. That is the ac- count of my visit at the Gallagher home and apiary during my stay at Maquoketa. Mr. Gallagher is a splen- did beekeeper. I will speak of this in a separate article soon. — C. P. Dadant. Contributed Articles^ Handling Honey BY C. C. CLEMONS, A COMMISSION MERCHANT. (Head before the Mimiuri State Beekeet>ers' l^sth iatioti.) if necessary, and put up in new 5-gal- lon cans. If second-hand cans are used, see that they are absolutely clean. One of the members, who is present, told me he bought some extracted honey put up in second-hand cans, and whiH the honey was as fine white clover as he ever handled, the cans were dusty and rusty. He also said he could tell what kind of bees the pro- ducers of this honty were. This honey also contained flies and soil, conse- quently this depreciated the selling price, whereas if it had been strained and the cans clean the honey would have been all right. This producer was not dishonest, but careless. I would like to tell what happened in our place of business as regards dis- honesty. Mr. Leahy, of Higginsville, Mo., came in one day and asked if we had any beeswax. I told him that we had just received two nice large cakes, about 100 pounds. We agreed on the price. He then said, " I have never done any butiness with your house; you can ship the beeswax C. O. D. or I will remit you." I told him he could remit, as I had never yet, in all my dealings, run across a dishonest bee- man. In getting this wax ready for shipment, we had to cut one of the WHAT I do not know about bees would make a very large book, for all bees look alike to me. However, I cannot say the same for honey. I have seen a great many dif- ferent kinds of honey. Honey, as a food, is one of the most wholesome of all sweets. It is also one of the most delicious. There is no preparation made or put up by man that can com- pare with the product of the bee. Therefore, it is up to the producers to keep up the high appreciation that the consumers of this wholesome and de- licious sweet now have by being cleanly and sanitary in preparing it for the market. We all know that the bee-business requires about as much brains and study as any other branch of industry, necessitating not only talent but care and attention, and every man in the business ought to have pride enough to take the best care of his bees ; also prepare the product so that it will bring the top market price. Extracted honey should be strained, Ked on Sweet Clover. August, 1914. American l^ee Journal cakes open, and, behold ! we found a 10-pound stone in the first cake, and in cutting into the other cake we found the same thing. I began to lose faith in bee-men. I wrote the gentleman, from whom we got the wax, and he came to see me. He said he had bought the wax from two peddlers late one evening. He paid for the two stones and my faith was restored. Well, now, a little more about honey. Until lately we have always been un- favorable to more than two grades of comb honey, No. 1 and No. 2, but this fall we have had two cars of comb honey from Colorado graded under the new rules of the Colorado State Bee- keepers' Association, and we were well pleased with the grading. These two cars were certainly graded according to rules. A great trouble with some beekeep- ers is they do not or will not comply closely with the grading rules. We also approve of the manner in which the two cars, just mentioned, were marked, as each grade is easily distin- guished from the others. Each grade is marked with a letter. For instance, fancy was marked with a " C," No. 1 with an " H," and No. 2 with a " P." Of course, any letter of the alphabet could be used, the object of changing the marking of the cases to letters being very obvious. For instance, a producer often has a Brood Sows Grazing on a Sweet Clover Pasture— Farm of Frank Coverdale. iCourtesy of Dakota Farmer.) quantity of honey slightly travel stained but of good weight, hardly of good enough quality to grade No. 1, but cer- tainly worth more than the price pre- vailing at that time for the No. 2 grade He cannot, conscientiously, pack and grade this lot No. 1, and certainly if he calls it No. 2 he will have to take the lower grade price. Therefore, by mark- ing the cases with a letter the lot could be sold strictly on its merits without misrepresentation by either the ship- per or commission man, and without the purchaser feeling that he was pay- ing too high a price for off grades. The cases marked by a letter can be sold with the understanding that the letter either represents a grade, either The Bee Men in the Coverpai.e Apiary. August, 1914. American Hee Journal No. 1 or No. 2. or that it was the mark used by an individual shipper. We would recommend, however, that stand- ard grading rules be adhered to as closely as possible. The 24-section case is about the only case that is now being used, either sin- gle or double deck, the 12, 18, and 28 section cases being out of date. As to sections, we have been asked the question, " Which are the most favorable with dealers, -l.xo or ■l'|.x4'4 sections ?" We find some difiference in opinions, but not enough to speak of. We do not think it makes any difference with the consumer, if the honey is clean and good weight. They say " Cleanliness is ne.xt to Godliness," so the next thing to grading is cleanli- ness. What looks nicer than a nice, white, clean case of sections and clean honey? Buyers always give this kind of package the preference. Always nail the cases securely, but use small nails so that the top may be taken off without splitting it. Buyers generally want the top removed so they may see if the sections run uniform as to quality, and in making local ship- ments I think you all know it is very important that you crate your cases. Another important thing to remem- ber is, do not fail to use separators, and be careful not to separate so closely that your sections will not weigh over 10 or 12 ounces. Kansas City, Mo. Colony Odor of Bees BV .VRTHIR C. MILLER. MR. EDITOR:— In yourfoot-note to Mr. Hastings' article on page 237, July, 1914, you imply that I am one of a very few who doubt the e.xis- tence of colony odor. If that is what you intended, I beg leave to correct you. If we may judge by analogy it is verj probable that each colony does possess an individual odor peculiar to itself. Also, if we judge by behavior of the bees under sundry conditions, they are guided by some unseen or un- seeable factor which is best explained by ascribing it to odor. Such suppo- sition is strengthened by a knowledge of the bees' acute sense of smell for some things. With such foundation for belief in the existence of individual colony odor, there has been built up little by little a hypothesis as to the individual bee's possession and retention of such odor and sundry practices of beecul- ture have been based on such supposi- tion. I contend that facts do not war- rant the belief in the retention by the individual bee of its colony odor after a greater or lesser absence from the colony. Or if we grant the possession of such odor, I contend that it plays a minor part inthe bees'reception among strangers. Furthermore, we have no proof or assurance that a bee confined for a time in an alien colony acquires the odor of that colony. Even though such things are almost universally believed by beekeepers does not make them so. Once every- body believed ihe world was flat (and some do now), but it is not so. Once all beekeepers believed in a "king bee," but we know differently now. Once The Coverdale Apiary. all beekeepers believed that bees arose from putrid meat, that wax was gath- ered from flowers, that bees stored honey in the cells with the tongue, that nectar was evaporated and ripened by exposure on the tongue, that a tongue extended toward a queen or other bee was offering or giving food, that pol- len was rammed into cells with the bees' head, all of which we now know is not so. And there are sundry other things commonly believed which are known to those who have investigated to be not so. As far as I am personally concerned it would be to my advantage to have the beekeepers believe as many erro- neous things as possible, and base many laborious and costly practices thereon, for it would make it so much easier for me to compete with them and to make my business greater and more profitable than theirs. But in the long run it would not help me. Ignorance is a drag on the whole na- tion, and though I might profit today by not helping others, tomorrow my children might be losers by the ignor- ance of some of their fellowmen. So after all it is really selfishness which seems to be the motive for my con- tentions. Concerning Mr. Hastings' doubt of my observations, all I can say is that judging by his article his observa- tions have not been e.xtensive enough. While at one time colonies resent the intrusion of any strangers, at another time any bee may enter anywhere. One day we may unite bees in any way we choose and the ne.xt day it takes all the skill we have. Under many condi- tions we may give queens to alien bees without any precautions whatever, and another day we must use much care. Until beekeepers will lay aside their prejudices, and will weigh each ob- served fact, it is almost useless to cite sundry examples where bees behave as if recognizing an odor, and the equally Sweet Clover Just Before Bloom. 274 August, 1914. American ^Bae Joarnal numerous times when their behavior suggests either the absence of any odor or their complete ignoring of it. To avoid misunderstanding, let me repeat that I believe each colony prob- ably does have its individual odor (there are exc options), and that it is possible that each bee thereof may possess and retain for a time such col- ony odor, but what I do most positively assert is that such odors do not play anything like the important part in practical bee-culture which has been given to them, and that beekeepers are blind to their own best interests when they fail to lay aside prejudice and blind belief and weigh fact against fact. In conclusion, let me say that when believing in the importance of odor as a factor in bee behavior, and basing my practices thereon, I had as much labor and as many troubles as the rest in carrying out the ordinary routine of bee-culture. Since relegating odor to the background and proceeding along independent lines, I have ac- complished much that is ordinarily considered impracticable and have ma- terially lessened the labor. Providence, R. I. very destructive to bee life, and it is to be hoped that every effort will be taken to prevent the introduction of the dis- ease to America. I take this opportunity to enclose one of my photographs of the remains of a colony that had been destroyed by this disease. It shows a comb taken from a diseased hive with the queen among the small cluster of dead bees. It is one of the characteristics of this disease that the queen is the last to survive, and from her position among the cluster of dead bees, it is pretty evident that her death was caused by chill, rather than from the effects of the disease. This photograph is one of a set of original photographs recently exhib- ited at the Conversazione of the British Beekeepers' Association on this disease. Barrowdene, Kent, England. Isle of Wight Disease BY GEO. \V. JUDGE. (NOTICE that the so-called "Isle of Wight Disease" (microsporidiosis) which has made such havoc among the bee population in this country, is engaging theattention of the American bee papers of late. I do not think it is generally realized in America what a menace this disease is to the industry. In Great Britain, during the last few years, it has spread rapidly all over the country, and today there are very few districts indeed that have not been visited by it. In many localities every colony has been destroyed; in fact, in the comparatively small area of north- west Kent (in which I reside) there is not 5 percent of the colonies alive to- day, that were in perfect condition three years ago. The causative agent {Xosema cij^/s) is The Launch in Beekeeping BY GRANT ANDKRSON. THE season of 1014 has been an un- usual one. The heavy rains in winter started the honey plants to growing, but later the weather turned out dry and cool with fog on warm mornings. The bees built up slowly on heavy stores, and the result was we were a full month later gettinR our first honey out than we were last spring. Swarming has also been later and lighter. The honey is of fine quality and the demand very good. We have orders now for more than 10,000 pounds of honey. The season, while late, promises to be a good orie ; boun- tiful rains and warm sun will surely bring the bloom. Our new baby yard that we started this spring has attracted considerable attention, located as it is on the very bank of the Arroyo, in sight of people passing in boats. I enclose a photograph of our big launch Queen B, with a light load of bees. The young man in the boat is my baby boy 15 years old. My two boys are my only helpers in the out- apiaries. We have a house at our new baby apiary, where the boys live most of the time and attend to the lowe apiaries. Our launch, Annie Lee, will take the boys to any of the lower api- aries in a few minutes and carry a sup- ply of hives and other fixtures for the bees. As you will see, the Queen B is strictly a work boat. We planned and built this boat for this special purpose, and after using her for several months we are satisfied that it would be diffi- cult to build a better one for the pur- pose. While the Queen B is a work boat, there are no boats on the Arroyo that can outrun her or run in as shal- low water as she with the same load. A good boat is the handiest thing for hauling honey. Some may ihink that lugging honey down and up hills to and from the boat would not be pleas- ant. We think so, too, but we don't do it. We have wire cables stretched from the top of the bank to the land- ings, and wheel our honeyto the upper end of the cable, and there a grab is made for the purpose, grips the case, svvings it up and rolls down the cable with it and a man in the boat lowers it. At the home landing we have a derrick with which to lift the honey out of the boat, swing it around on to a little platform which is suspended from an- other cable on which two rollers run, and the honey is run up the cable to the top of the bank and placed on the truck ready for the depot or honey house. This plan does away with most of the heavy lifting and saves time. Our road is always good, rain or shine. Some one may want to know what I am doing while the boys look after the lower apiaries. Well, I hap- pen to be busy most of the time. I have one honey yard and three queen yards to work besides transporting the hives and other supplies to the boys, shipping queens and honey and look- ing after the business generally. The cost of running the Queen B is less than the cost of feed for a team ; it is less trouble and more satisfactory. For moving bees there is nothing as good as a boat; we can move them with safety the hottest weather we have. We can move a good sized api- ary at one trip. San Benito, Tex. Grant Anderson's Launch Loaded with Bees. The Odor Theory BY H. Sl'UHLER. IT was with a keen interest that I read the articles of Arthur C. Miller and of Dr. Brunnich upon the introduc- tion of queens and the odor theory. Without doubt the Miller method of introduction is excellent as concerns its simplicity and the results obtained. But I am astonished as to his view point concerning the role of odor in the dom. stic economy of the hive. In his last article Mr. Miller says: "I admit that each colony may have its individual odor, but I deny that a bee, after a long foraging trip, will retain enough of it to affect her reception by an alien colony. On the contrary, every observation indicates that it is wholly the individual bee's behavior which governs her reception." To prove this he cites the fact that field workers, returning loaded from the field, are accepted everywhere, and \ugiist. 1914. Amerkan Hee Journal that in addition one can find Italian bees in colonies of black bees as soon as this race has been introduced in an apiary. To solve the question of odor we must remember that all the faculties of the bees are intended primarily for the conservation of the race. If our the- ory is well founded, the odor must ser/e this purpose, and the bees must recognize each other by their individ- ual colony odor. I have often made the experiment that chilled bees gathered up and placed at the entrance of a hive are driven away, and even carried away, by the bees of th it hive. If. on the other hand, during a honey flow, some laden workers go astray into the wrong hive, they are readily accepted. This is easily understood. In a time of abundance, no one is afraid of thieves, and there is very much less guarding than in a dearth. Besides, the colonies of an apiary visiting the same kinds of bloom, it brings the bees' odor nearer together. Then, too, bees like men, are unlikely to drive away those who bring them something. In a dearth, the conditions are entirely different, every strange bee, even a young bee, is mercilessly driven away; the struggle for existence demands it. It is true that robbers are easily rec- ognized even by their behavior, their guilty actions betray them. But the control of strangers is made more by odor than by sight. The Italian bees mix readily with the blacks, but the in- verse rarely happens. They usually re- fuse to accept of common bees. This is diflicult to explain. Orphan bees are usually accepted everywhere, when they come as suppli- cants, fanning their wings and humbly asking for admittance. But if the api- arist tries to unite them forcibly, with- out necessary precautions, the greater number of them are killed. When the uniting is done upon nuclei, or normal colonies transported in the place of others the union is more likely to suc- ceed owing to the reciprocal embar- rassment although they evidently know the united bees to be strangers. The fact cited by Mr. Miller, that drones have a free pass everywhere, brings forward another question, that of sex odor. He says: "Have not drones the odor of their own colony ?" Unquestionably, but much stronger than the colony odor is the sex odor, and this is what protects the drones. At the time of swarming the entire colony is sexually excited. The worker bees are females, though imperfect, and at this time they evidently have to a certain degree an amorous sentiment for the males. It would be against the purposes of nature if the bees of a colony attacked strange drones, for the natural law favors the mating of the queen with a drone from another hive, so as to avoid the noxious in breeding. It must be understood that the sex odor of the queen is in no way inferior to that of the drone. Swarming time furnishes us with evidence of this, since matings take place between colo- nies 4 or 5 kilometers apart. But the sexual odor of the female does not dis- appear after fecundation. It remains in queens as well as it does in other liv- ing beings. During an apicultural demonstration I was transferring a Carniolan colony and placed the queen in a cage so as to give the students opportunity to ex- amine her more closely. After a time this queen was returned to the bees and the cage was laid a few feet awa;?. After the operation, I went to get the cage and was surprised to see it cov- ered with young bees which had been accidentally scattered in handling the frames. They had been attracted by the odor of the queen though she was in there no longer. Another time, after hiving a trans- ferred colony, I noticed the bees scat- tering in every direction. The queen was missing. Luckily I had another queen in reserve in a match box. As soon as this match box was placed in the hive, the bees gathered around it and formed a marching line from the outside while fanning their wings. I liberated the queen, and it goes with- At the Coverdale Farm Near Delmar July August, 1914, American Hee Jonrnal H i^^^^^^j^/^ ri^j ^l-v^'^ ""- ^^ ""'^^^"^^^'^l^^^^bi^ In the Apiary at Colo Looking for Queens. out saying that she was well received. The sexual odor is manifested not only by the queen but by the entire colony. This may be exemplified in uniting swarms. There is no difficulty in uniting primary or secondary swarms together. But if we try to unite a primary swarm with an after swarm, it usually results in a failure. The reason is that their sexual odor is different, the secondary swarm being under the excitement of rut, while with a fecundated queen the primary swarm it not under such excitement. His Kirst Experience with Bees was at THE Colo Field Meet. The knowledge of the role played by odor in the management of an apiary and in the life of the bee facilitates the conduct of the apiary. But the "be- havior" of both the bees and the api- arist is also an important factor which we must not undervalue. An experi- enced apiarist working quietly at his bees, handles them with greater suc- cess and is less stung than a beginner. It also happens that a frightened queen is sometimes attacked by her own bees. How about Mr. Arthur C. Miller's success in his method of introduction ? It is based upon the same reasons that cause the success of beekeepers who introduce queens by putting the colo- nies in the position of swarms. In either case the bees are reduced to despair. An artificial swarm without a queen, having no resources, will ac- cept any queen given. By the Miller process the colony is so disturbed, ex- cited both by the smoke and the want of ventilation, that the bees are only looking for safety from the terrible conditions created. The combination of smoke and nf this excitement pro- duces a distinctive odor which pervades the entire hive, and it is for those rea- sons that the queen is accepted. So the method of Mr. Miller depends upon the same factors as other methods but in a different manner. His great merit consists in having supplied so simple a method, which will render great ser- vices to beekeepers. Zurich, Switzerland. Second Iowa Field Meet BY FRANK C. PELLF.TT. THE second Iowa field meeting, which was held at the Hall apiary at Colo on Tune 10, was a decided success, although the attendance was not as large as had been expected. The weather was threatening in the morning, and rain fell not many miles away, but it cleared nicely before noon and those present spent a most profit- able day. A register book was kept open, and at the close of the day con- tained more than 60 names of those in attendance. The day was spent in discussions and examination of the Hall equipment and bees. After a most excellent din- ner served by the Ladies' Aid Society, Prof. Bartholomew, of Ames, gave a very good talk on " Value of Scientific Research to the Beekeeper." Prof. Bartholomew is in charge of tlie new course in beekeeping at the Iowa Agricultural College, and has outlined some of thethings that the State sliould undertake, which the individual is not in position to carry on alone Most of the Hall bees are very gen- tle, and although most of the day was spent among the hives, and nearly all were opened one or more times, there was little trouble with stings. One colony proved to be an exception to the rule, and boiled out in the good old style, and raised a considerable com- motion. One youngster who had fol- lowed operations very closely and asked many questions, had his curi- osity entirely satisfied with a souvenir under his eye. He did not again visit the yard. Altogether those present voted the day a most pleasant one, and Mr. and Mrs. Hall and daughter Annette splen- did hosts. Atlantic, Iowa. A Century of Progress BY J. E. CRANE. A FAMOUS French surgeon made the statement a century ago that surgery had reached such a de- gree of perfection that it could not be expected to go any farther. Amputa- tions and removals of some external growths, and in extreme cases removal of bone pressure on the brain was about all that could be done at that time. As we look at it now, surgery was then in its infancy. With the discovery of anesthesia, with chloroform and ether, a new start was made in the art. The discovery that mortification was the result of microscopic bacteria was a wonderful help. Then came antiseptic treatment with increased skill until today the surgeon goes to the very center of the body and head of a patient. Immense improvements have been made in many other lines. Methods of travel have changed until today we can cross the ocean or the continent in a few days, or with our own conveyance travel over our country roads at 30 miles an hour. In fact, the dream of the ages has come true when a man may fly over mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes. How about beekeeping ? A century ago there had been little improvement in it over that of -000 years ago. The studies of Langstroth gave us the mov- able-comb hive; placing beekeeping at once on a solid foundation ; eliminat- ing the element of chance or guess work; enabling us to accomplish work we had previously not dared to at- tempt. To subdue and keep the bees in sub- jection, Quinby soon brought out a hand smoker, the forerunner of all our modern smokers. With smoker and a veil we were masters of our bees. But more was desired. How nice it would be if we could take the honey out of the combs and return them to the hive to be filled again! Very soon a thoughtful German brought out the honey extractor. I remember, about 1808, attaching a cord to the ceiling overhead, and after twisting it very tightly, fastening the other end to the bail of a pail in which I had placed a comb, and let it whirl just to see if it would work. And it did, and in 18t)n I made a machine with which I took 240 pounds of honey from one hive. What dreams of future success were mine! August, 1914. 277 American line Journal Field Uav Group at Colo. Iowa. June iu. But we found that the larvx would come out of the brood-combs with the honey, for we had no way at first to keep the queen from laying in the ex- tracting combs. So some ingenious mechanic made the queen-excluding zinc for honey-boards. To this was added an escape to remove the bees from both comb and extracting supers. That has saved us a great deal of time and vexation. We can now save our combs already built, and get much more honey than before. But comb was so valuable, why could we not in some way make artificial combs ? To help the bees, I remember feeding or giving them thin scrapings of wax which they accepted and worked into their combs. After many experiments and many failures comb foundation was brought out in its present form ; one of the greatest helps to modern beekeeping. Honey boxes or supers were mostly made of js or K inch lumber, of all shapes and sizes, with sometimes a lit- tle glass in one end to show the comb. These were sent to market in dry-goods boxes, or even barrels. Later came glass boxes, and then the beautiful and convenient single combs with shipping cases to match them in appearance. I must not forget the introduction in this country of Italian bees, which gave a wonderful impetus to advanced bee- keeping. It gave a fresh interest in artificial queen rearing until it has be- come a science of itself, and adds im- mensely to the pleasure and profit of keeping bees. One hundred years ago it was thought that buckwheat was about the only farm crop that would amount to much for bee pasturage, but about 1866 alsike clover was introduced as a val- uable plant for both forage and honey. In 1869 my brother and I had two acres in bloom. What a sight! It well re- paid for the seed that cost us $1.20 per pound. In this same year M. M. Bald- ridge wrote to the American Bee Jour- nal extolling the value of sweet clover for bees, which is now becoming an mportant factor in many places. Since hat time alfalfa lies shown its ability, especially in the West, to yield honey abundantly. These have all become important farm crops, and will help to make good the loss from our diminish- ing basswood forests. One hundred years ago little was known of brood diseases. Since then they have been so carefully studied that we can very largely control them. In many, or most, of our northern States we have bee inspectors to in- struct and assist beekeepers in over- coming these drawbacks to successful beekeeping. Our modern wax extractors are almost as much of an improvement in getting wax out of old combs as the honey extractor in removing the honey from the combs. Methods of handling bees, prevention of swarming and marketing honey have greatly improved. Of beekeeping literature there was lit- tle in this country. But we have had for many years " Langstroth's Hive and Honey Bee," " Mysteries of Bee- keeping Explained," by Moses Quinby, "Root's A B C." Dr. Miller's "Fifty Years Among the Bees," "Advanced Beekeeping," by Hutchinson, and other smaller works. Several periodicals de- voted almost exclusively to the inter- ests of beekeeping give us everything of value or helpful. The Bureau of Entomology of the Department at Washington, D. C, has for many years been working with us and for us in solving the problems beekeepers have not the time to work out. With improved methods and imple- ments during the latter part of the last century, honey became so abundant that the price went very low. I was able to buy the choicest white sage honey in the Boston market for 6 cents a pound. But the low price and abundance led to its use in cooking and manufacturing; a single firm, I am informed, now takes about 100 carloads a year for this purpose. Its use as a table luxury is increasing, and it can now be found in hotels, restaurants and dining cars, as well as on the fam- ily table. The immense value of bees in the cross fertilization of flowers has been discovered in recent years. While this does not perhaps add to the wealth of the beekeeper, it may add greatly to his happiness to know that his bees are of as much value to his neighbor as to himself. Has beekeeping now reached such a degree of perfection that there will be no further improvement ? We do not think so, for there are yet many prob- lems not less difficult of solution than many of those already solved. How fascinating the business of beekeeping seems, compared with even 60 years ago! Middlebury, Vt. The Bee-Escape Board Improved BY GEO. A. BOYUM. A BEE-ESCAPE is a device to get the bees out of the supers. It per- mits them to leave the super and prevents their return. Illustration: A represents a common bee-escape board with a Porter bee- escape in the center. When a bee-es- A. Ordinary Escape Board. cape is placed under a super, the re- maining bees at once begin to look for a place to get out. Naturally they go first to the corners or cracks where the light comes in, in search for an exit. With a board like A, the bees follow the edge or corner around the board probably several times before they chance to cross over the middle of it and discover the opening through the escape. With a board like B, having two slats nailed to it, as shown in the illustra- tion, the bees may begin to follow the edge or corner at any point, and will always be directed right into the open- ing in the escape. With this added improvement all the bees leave the super in much less time. The slats should be fastened by only one nail in the middle, so that they 278 August, 1914. American l^e Joarnal / / j^ r\ n CT //. B. The Slats Tacked On. may be turned as shown in illustration C, thereby permitting the escape to be taken o t. The slats serve to hold the escape, tin or screen in place; they should be Js-inch thinner than the out- side rim, /. c. 3-l(i inch thick for the common bee-escape board. The bee- escape boards should, however, be fj- inch deep with ?4-inch slats across the center. Rushford, Minn. the consciousness that sooner or later this expanding bee business would call loudly for a lift from his right arm. Before extracting time father burnt up great areas of gray matter trying to figure out a way to keep his vacation from coinciding with that eventful and dreaded occasion. Finally a neighbor with strong arms and a somewhat inti- mate acquaintance with the secrets of Father Langstroth, was employed to assist mother in taking the honey. So while these two were immersed in the mysteries and pleasures of Honeyland, father was wading knee-deep in a cer- tain trout stream. But even there father's mind was notentirely at peace. The " blue jinks " kept whispering to him that sooner or later his day — his Waterloo — with the bees would come. And come it did, and that with a ven- geance. On Sept. 1, father's job ceased, pe- tered out, vamoosed. Not that he got fired, but that the statute of limitation was called upon that sort of work. This left father upon the high seas of idleness, which state was at once pounced upon by mother as affording the proper hiatus for father's initiation into bee lore. (Right here, gentle reader and frowning editor, let me Initiating Father BY W. EDGAR WOODRUFF. UP to this time mother had always been the bee-man at our house. Father's closest acquaintance with the winged tribe consisted of clutter- ing up good lumber in an effort to nail "ready made" hives together, and in sampling rather freely the liquid sweets when they were placed upon the table. Yes, and it must be confessed, that father had been known to boast to our neighbors of the fact that this "new rig" or that new piece of furniture was purchased with money that »tc made out of 0'>'";A/. or common locust, yields excellent honey be tween fruit bloom and clover bloom. But in very few localities it is in surticient quan- tity to yield a surplus. In Italy, it is used for hedues. and we were informed that it makes large quantities of very white honey. The blossoms which our Natal friend sent us appear to have a corolla similar to that of red clover. Perhaps some others of our South .African subscribers may enlighten us as to the name of the bush. The eucalyptus or blue gum is also an Australian tree, but is much grown in Cali- fornia. Our Californian correspondent. Mr. J. E. Pleasants, has already given us. in the July number, quite a little information con- cerning the eucalyptus, and he promises additional information, before long, on this subject. Classified Department [Advertisements in this department will be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- counts of any kind . Notices here cannot be less than two lines. If wanted in this de- partment, you must say so when ordering. BEES AND QUEENS. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens will please you. For SALE-Untested Golden Italian Oueens 60c each J. K. Michael. Winchester. Ind. Bees and Queens from my New Jersey apiary. J H M. Cook. lAtf 70 Cortland St.. New York City. Golden all-over Oueens. Untested. Sloo. Tested. $3 00. Breeders. $5.00 and Sio. 2Atf Robert Inghram. Sycamore. Pa. For SALE-Choice Golden Queens that produce Golden bees equal to any. Wm. S. Barnett. Barnett's. Virginia. Leather-Colored Italian Queens for sale. Send for price-list. Geo. B. Howe. Black River. N. Y. PiRE Tunisian Queens, tested. $1.00; 2-lb bees with tested queen. $400 Safe arrival guaranteed. Lenoel. Nabeul. Tunis. Untested Queens. 73c each; $7 so per doz Nuclei $1 25 per frame. Bees. $1.50 per pound. Full colonies. Sframe. $0 50; loframe. l7.5o. Stover Apiaries. Mayhew, Miss. For Sale— Fine Italian Queens. See my large ad. in this issue. J F. Archdekin. Rt. 7. St. Joseph. Mo. Italian Queens for sale. Untesed. 00 cts: six for $4. 75. All queens are reared from my imported mother. Jul. Buegeler Rt. I. New Ulm. Tex. i'ji4 Queens— Moore's strain of leather- colored Italians In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address. Ogden Bee & Honey Co.. Ogden. Utah. Choice Italian Queens— Hardy, gentle, white cappers. 3-banded. hustlers. Untested 75c each, six for $4.00. Select untested. $1.00; six for $5.00. Tested, {i 50. A. J Seavey. Karmington. Maine. Queens, improved Red Clover Italians, bred for business. June i to Nov. 15. Un- tested Queens, -5ceach; dozen, SS.oo; Select, Ji. 00 each: dozen. $10. Tested Queens, li. 25; dozen. $12, Safe arrival and satisfaction ■ guaranteed. H. C. Clemons. Boyd. Ky. I Queens— 10 percent discount for orders received before May i. to be tilled in May and June. Tested. $i.oo-. untested 75c. Dead ones replaced free. jAgt S. Click, Rt. 2. Box 10. Mt. Jackson. Va We Will be in the field wilh good Italian Queens in June for $i,uo each: (1 for $500. Two-frame nuclei in June without queen. $2^0: with queen, $1 no extra n. 1 Blocher. Pearl Cily. III. Northern-reared Queens of Moore's strain of leather-colored three-banded Iial- ians. After June 15. untested, li.oo; b for $5 00; 12 for Jg.oo. Ramer & Gluen, Harmony. Minn. Phelps' Golden Italian Bees are hustlers. Italian Oueens. s-banded. for sale. Ready April 15. Untested queens. 75c each, or S7 25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. I alley. Queen Breeder. 3Atf Rt. 4. Greenville, Ala. For Sale— iuh hatch sel. tested. Aug. $1 00 each: Sept.. 75c each as long as ihey last; wish 10 replace with 1014 for IQ15 sales. Will sell a good breeder for Si co. E li. Mott. Glenwood. Mich. High Grade Queens by return mail. Tested. Ji 25: warranted. 75c each: choice breeding queens. $2 ,=;■■ each, Italian Carnio- lan or Caucasian. Virgins of any of the above strain. 3 for $1 00. Stanley ..^ Finch. 14^1 Ogden Ave . Chicago. III. Three-Banded and Golden Italian queens. Ready March i. They have been bred for three points, prolilicness. gentleness and honey-gathering qualities Prices. Select Untested. 75c each: 6, $4.25: 12. S8 25; 50. %\i 50: too. $60. "Tested, ii. 50: Select Tested. $2.00. Garden City Apiary Co., R. R. 3. Box 86. San Jose. Calif. California Italian Queens. Goldens and Three-banders by return mail. Select un- tested, one. Sloo: 3. $2.50: 12. S8.00. Tested. $1.25. Bees by the pound a specialty. One i-lb.. Sl25: one 2-lb . S2.25. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. Correspondence invited: circular free. J E. Wintj. iSSSchiele Ave.. San Jose, Calif. Reduced Prices for August and Septem- ber. Untested queens of my 3-banded Ital- ian stock One for 70 cts, : 6 for S3 00: 12 or more al 60 cts. apiece. No disease and no better queens at any price. F'ull colonies and several apiaries for sale. H. D. Murry. Malliis. Tex. Pure Golden Queens, the best that twelve years can produce. Untested. Si.5o each. Select tested. Si 00 each. Breeders, Ss 00 to $50. Send for booklet on "Bees and Dis- eases." Geo. M. Steele. 30 South 40th St.. Philadelphia. Penna. GOLI>EN Queens that produce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal- lenge the world on my Goldens and their honey-getting qualities. Price. St. 00 each: Tested. S2.0Q: Breeders. Ss-oo and Sio.oo. 2Atf J. B. Brockwell. Barnetts. Va. The Bankston Bees and Queens are as good as the best. Golden. Three-band and Carniolan. Tested. $1.00 each: untested. 75c. Queens ready to ship April 15. Bees, per pound. Si 50 .Nuclei, per frame. Si. 50. Write us for prices on large lots of queens. Try us and be pleased. Bankston & Lyon. Box 141. Buffalo. Tex. Golden and 3 banded lialian and Carnio- lan queens, ready to ship after April ist. "Tested. $:.oo; 3 to 6. Qsc each:6 to 12 or more. 00c each. Untested. 75c each: 3 10 (>. 70c each; 6 or more. 65c. Bees, per lb.. Si 50: Nuclei, per frame. S' 5" C. B. Bankston. Buffalo. Leon Co.. 1'ex. For Sale. — Three-banded Italian Queens, bred from the best honey-gathering strains, that are also hardy and gentle. Untested queens. 75c: six, $4 25: 12. jK,oo. Tested. $1.25; 6. $7. CO; 12. $12, For select queens, add 25c each to above prices Breedingqueens. $3,00 to J^ooeach. For queens in larger quantities write for prices. Robt B Spicer. Wharton. N.J. Dunn's Golden Italian queens, bred strictly for business that produce a strong race of honey gatherers. March i to Oct. 15. One. mated, 7sc: 6. $4.21;; 12. S8.2S; So. S32. 50: 100. S60. L. J. Dunn. Queen Breeder. zAot Box 337 G. R. R. b. San Jose. Calif. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. 'They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated. $1.00; six. $5.00; Tested. $3 00; Breed- ers. $5.00 and $10 C. W. Phelps & Son. 3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton. N. Y. Quirin's Famous improved Italian queens are northern bred and extremely hardy: over 20 years a breeder. Colonies. Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H,G, Quirin. The Queen Breeder. Bellevue. Ohio. For Sale— We offer our best Italian bees in loframe hives, from one to carload f o. b here, or in yards of 100 or more complete with fixtures and location. Cash on reason- able time. 11 preferred, will rent on shares several years with privilege to buy. Partic- ulars on request. Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff. Calif. Queens by return mail or your money back. Guaranteed purely mated. J. E. Hand strain of 3-banded Italians Bred for gentleness, honey gathering and wintering. State inspector's certificate. Select un- tested, one. 75c: SIX. S4.00; 12, $7.00. Tested, one. Si 00: six, Ss-oo: 12, Sq-oo; Select tested, one. $1,25; six. $7.00; 12, Si3 Breeders. S4. 00 each. Write for price on large orders. Safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed in U. S. and Canada. Ten percent discount on 30 days' advance orders. Reference. First Na- tional Bank. J. M. Giugerich. Arthur, III HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey." Sample for stamp. Null Co.. Demopolis. Ala Wanted — Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax. R. A. Burnett & Co., 6Ai2t 173 S. Water St.. Chicago. III. For Sale— Orange honey in 60-lb. cans, 2 in a case, at qc per pound. Sample free James ^lcKee. Riverside. Calif For Sale— No i white comb. $1 00 per case; fancy. Si. 2s: 24 Danz. sec. to case, and 6 case to carrier. Wiley A, Latshaw. Carlisle. Ind. For Sale— Light Amber Extracted Alfalfa Honey of excellent quality, by car lots in new 5-gal. cans. Can also take care of smaller orders. Address. Roy F, Bateman, R. R. No. 2. Box 1=;. Brawley. Calif, "The Beekeepers' Review is now owned and published by the honey producers themselves It is t/u- paper ,/// honey pro- ducers should support. Eight months' trial subscription, beginning with the May num- ber, for only s-jc. Sample copy free. Ad- dress. The Beekeepers' Review. Xorthstar. Mich. SUPPLIES. Bee-Keeper. let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co.. 4Atf Greenville. "Tex. Better Hives for Less Money- Bee- keepers' suD[>lies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick. Sunnyside. Wash. The A. I. Root Company's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation. Poultry, Sup- plies, Seeds. Write for catalog. The Chas E. Hopper Co.. 185 Wright Ave.. Toroiita. Ont. MISCELLANEOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos). Write Dr. Bonney, Buck Grove, Iowa, for samples. August, 1914. American Hee Journal I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony; my neighbors eot none. I'll tell you how for 25c. O. N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. Make paint without oil cheaply. Best known for bee-hives, barns, coops, etc. Formula. 15c. I. Holmberg. I*"l Dorado Spriniis. Mo. I Will show any bee man who can raise about four thousand dollars, how to live and erow richer every year without hard labor. Write me. Jolin NI. Mortjan. Ordway. Colo. You have been ihinkint: for some time you would like to become a National Bee- keepers' Association member. Now is your time; a year's dues to the National and eiffht months' subscription to our own paper, the Beekeepers" Review, besinning with the May number, both for only a dollar. Ad- dress with remittance. The Beekeepers' Re view, Northstar. Mich. POUIiTKY For Sale— Single Comb Buff Orpington eges for hatching, pure bloods: Si 00 per 15 or $5 00 per hundred. Satisfaction Guaranteed. W. H. Payne. Hamilton. 111. FOR SALE For Sale— Having sold my farm. I now offer for sale 50 colonies of bees in lo-frame hives, with or without supers or supplies No foulbrood. C. S. Russell. Pine City. Minn. WANTED Wanted— To buy a yard of bees in New York State, in good location. Mention full particulars, style of hives, etc. Post-Office Box S7. Mahwah, N. J. CASH PAID FOR HONEY We are constantly in receipt of inquiries for prices on honey. When you are ready to market your honey, you will find an army of purchasers ready to buy it by advertis- ing your product in the Woman's National Weekly, which reaches 200. oon homes every week. Write for our Special Classified rates and free sample cony Dept. O C, Woman's National Weekly, University City. St Louis. SPECIAL OFFER Will sell ^no choice tested Italian Queens at 85c each. These are the very best queens in our 3 apiaries, and will guar- antee every queen to give entire satisfac- tion. If not satisfied within one year we will refund your money. FRED LEININGER & SON Delphos, Ohio EASTERN 9 BEEKEEPERS »; 'Iliis is tlie season wliuii you will need bees or supplies. Our catalog, which is freewill show you how to save money. We liave a laree stock and can ship promptly. Kalian queens, $1.10. I. J. STRINGHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES : Clen Cove, L. I. I ITALIAN BEES Choice Home-bred Queens Reared In strong colonies. Prices for July & After Untested Queen. .. .go One Tested Queen li.so Select Tested i 60 ■ Breeder 2,43 Comb Nucleus— no Queen 00 H lb. bees go 1.75 Safe arrival guaranteed. For dfscriptioii of each grade o( (joeens send for FREE catalog J. L. STRONG, Clarinda, - - Iowa i ITALIAN QUEENS Untested queens. 75c each; 6 queens. 1.75- Tested queens. Qoc each. Six queens. $4 =0. JOHN LEININGER Ft. Jennings, Ohio ITALIAN OUEENS NORTHERN BRED Superior winterers, sec- ond to none. My free list explains it all. Untested. 75c for Aug. and Sept. Select tested. $1.50 Bees by the pound or half pound. Plans. "How to Introduce Queens." 15 cents. "How to Increase," 15 cents; both. 25 cents. E. E. MOTT, Glenwood,Mich. ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS Three-banded. Bred for persistent profit able production of honey. Prolific, hardy, gentle. The bee for pleasure or profit. One customer says. "Your queen soon had her 10 frames running over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction gua r an teed. Orders filled promptly. Ready May2o. Dstested, $1.00 each; 3 for 2.73: 6for$S00; doz.,$900. Select tested, $2 cich. J. F. Archdekin, R. R. 7, SI. Joseph, Mo. Idaho and Oregan Report Through- out southern Idaho we had a very early spring ; general conditions were per- fect. On June 0 we had a very bad freeze, requiring considerable feeding in some cases where bees previous to the freeze had too much honey for proper brood-rearing. Ideal weather has since brought these conditions back considerably but not enough, for we are not going to have more than two-thirds of a crop in general, unless we have a late fall, which is rare here. Tnere is a large portion of Idaho where the freeze did not hit that will have a good average crop. Word received from eastern Oregon today informs me that a bad hail storm has about knocked their prospects in the head ; they also had a frost in June M. A. Gill, Jr. Hagerman, Idaho, July 20. EARLY ORDER DISCOUNTS WILL Pay You to Buy Bee Supplies Now 29 years' experience in making everything for the beekeeper. A largefactory specially equipped for the purpose ensures goods of highest quality. Write for our illustrated catalog today. LEAHY MFG. CO., 90 Sixth St., Higginsville, Missouri SHIPPING CASES - SPECIAL DEAL SINGLE DECK-24 section, '2-inch glass shipping cases, special price. Write us ! Ship us your old coinlis and cappings. It means more wax and money for you. We buy honey for casli. Write us wliat you have to sell. THE FRED W. IVIUTH CO., "The Busy Bee Men" 204 Walnut St., Cincinnati, Ohio American "Ree Journal FEATURES OF ADVANTAGE OF THE ROLLER ENTRANCE BOTTOM BOARD 1. It allows feeding duringany time of the day or year— at midday or in mid-winter. 2. It controls the mat- inti of the (lueen so that mismatiny is prevented. 1. It settles the robber bee question as the rol- ler can be quickly turn- ed to bring the small entrance into position 4 It sifls automatical- ly undesirable drones out of the hive, and cages them in the drone trap. 5. It permits ample ventilation at the height of the honey-flow. 6. It can be instantly closed when moving bees in and out of cellars or from one yard to another. 7. It permits undesirable queens to be sifted out by screening the bees through the wire entrance. H. It prevents sw arms from going to the tops of trees or away to the woods when the beekeeper is away. Q. It practically eliminates swarming, as the colonies usually show no inclination to swarm. Why. I do not know. 10. It is adjustable to make a shallow bottom for summer and a deep one for winter It contains many other valuable featuies which will be apparent to any beekeeper upon investigation, and if it isonce tried it will always be used. 8-frame size, $2.00; 10-frame size, $2.50. Italian Queens, Breeders, $10 to $25. Nothing sold under Sio. CHAS. G. SCHAMU INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER Box 48, LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK Nov. I to May i May I to June i June I to July t July I to Nov. I I 6 12 I 6 12 I 6 12 I 6 12 Untested |i .?o $7.50 $13.50 Select Untested 2.00 8.50 15 00 Tested 2.50 13.50 25.00 Select Tested 3.00 1650 30.00 $1.25 J 6 50 $n.5o 1.50 7.50 13 50 2.00 10-50 18.S0 2.75 15.00 27.00 $t.00 S 5.00 $ Q.OO 125 b.50 12.00 1-75 0.00 17.00 2-50 13.50 2500 t .75 $ 4-00 S 7.50 1. 00 500 0.00 1.50 8-00 1500 2-0O 10.00 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year — Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested for breeding, $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.S0 to $10 each. Queens for export will be carefully packed in long distance cages, but safe delivery is not guaranteed. John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. "Griggs Saves You Freight" TOLEDO " Griggs Saves You Freight" ti \S lib lour carloads of new goods on hand, we are now better prepard for the rush linn . ver. But don't wait to be in tlie rush. Send your o^der in now and have •ds on hand, ready for use. NEW ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF 60 PACES \^'e want one in every beekeepers' hands. Send postal for one today. It is free. WHITE CLOVER EXTRACTED HONEY WANTED-ALSO BEESWAX In exchange for supplies It will be to your interest to get in touch and keep in touch with us. S. J. GRIGGS & CO., 24 N. Erie St., TOLEDO, OHIO <-.-V-'i-<; ^ /< irtrn'< "v ////■ '"/r K XiCOSOOKOOCOeOOaOCOQOOSOSKX S ||EW QEE ^ Q H ENGLAND D TENNESSEE-BRED QUEENS 42 years' experience in queen-rearing— Breed 3-band Italians only nr^yxxxxYxxxxiry H H H H H H Y¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ y ^ X ^TYYX X X X X X X X YYYY» KEEPERS O Everything in Supplies fi New Goods. Factory Prices X Save Freight and Express Charges 8 CULL & WILLIAMS CO. n Providence, R. I. >UGOOOOGOQC<:>eOSOOSOQO!>S>00!! WESTERN BEE KEEPERS H^oUera^^d k'et the l-iest Koods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and special price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver, Colorado W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings i^aws' queens above the usual standard; bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist, About 50 first-class breeding-queens ready at any date. Prices: Tested. $1.25; 5 for $5.00; Breeders, each Is. 00. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. Bee-Supplies LET US FIGURE WITH YOU We know we can satisfy you on quality. Write for catalog. C.C.CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. Dept. S., Kansas City, Mo. CARWIOLAN QUEENS AKTER JULY i 1 6 12 Untested Si.oo 55.50 $g.oo Tested, the same price. Address. WM. KERNAN. R. F. D. No. 2, - Dushore, Pa. Am Now Shipping Dnteated Qvecns from My CELEBRATED PEDIGREED STRAIN! My bees are the product of many years of breed- ing by both S war ih more and Henry Alley. Both names stand out like www-v beacon lights among our ' ' ~ past and present breed- ers, for the best queensever produced in the United States Never had foul brood. SWARTHMORE APIARIES. Swarthmoit, Pt. ySwarthmorto QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of vband stock reared for honey gatherine qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later, 75c Tested, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of having queens when you want them. R. A. 8HULTS, Cosby, Tenn. 286 August, 1914. American Hee Jonrnal ^ SYRACUSE CHICAGO NEW YORK BALTIMORE CANONSBURG I CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY INCORPORATED { HONEY CANS 9 All Styles-All Sizes t Friction Top 9 Boxed Square Cans S 60-Pound Shipping Cans HONEY PAILS i Sales Offices : , 2201 South Halsted St., Chicago 616 W. 43d Street, New York City CLOSING OUT SALE BEE BOOKS, VEILS AND SIVIOKERS I have some of the following that I would like to close out at once, and on which I make reduced prices, all postpaid : •• Lansstroth on the Honey-Bee ■' Latest edition, $i.2o) $i.oo " SonBS of Beedom" lo bee-songs— 25c) I5 " Honey-Money Stories" (JScl •'i ' Pearce's Metliod of Beekeeping" (50c) • 3" Hand's " Beekeeping by 20th Centnry Methods (50c) 30 Wilder's "Soutliern Bee-Culture" (50c) so Muth Bee-Veil '75c) ™ Danzenbaker Bee-Smoker (Si.oo) 00 $?.6o Or «// the above in one order to one address for only $>Ji(i. (The retail price of the bunch is $4.05.) Address, GEORGE W. YORK, SANDPOINT, IDAHO Three-Band Italian Queens For 1914 I will again have for sale, after April 1st, young queens reared from my best Leather- ^Colored Breeders. You will make sure of improving your stock and securing a crop of honey if you introduce some of these queens. The Leather-Colored Italians are recommended and used by the largest and most progressive bee-men of today. Untested. Si. 00 each; $9.00 per doz., $75 per hundred. Select Tested, $1.S0 each. C. S. ENGLE, Beeville, Bee Co., Texas SUPERIOR GOLDEN QUEENS Untested, $1.00; 6, $5.00; 12, $9. Select Untested, $1.25; 6, $6, 12, $10. Prices on application for tested and untested queens by the hundred. Address, T. S. HALL, Talking Rock, 8a. WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Prices. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SECELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St., New York, N. Y. BINDER ATTACHMENT with corn harvester cuts and throws in piles on harvester in win- rows. Man and liorse cut and shock equal with a corn binder. Sold in every State. Price only $2000 willi fodder binder. J, D. UorTU', Haswell. (_"ok) . writes : '*Yourcorn harvester is all you claim for it ; cut, tied and shocked 65 acres mile, cane and corn last year.*' Testinionials and catalog free, sluiwini: pictures of harvester. Address. PROCESS MANF. CO., Salina, Kansas. Queens of Quality 3 band leatlier color. I'nt.. imc eacli; J7 oo per doz. Sel. Unt.. tsc eacli; $8.00 per doz. Circular free. J. 1. BANKS, Liberty, Tenn 287 American TUie Joornal -m^^^H joooococoosoooooooQeosceecooooaosoocoooioccoooeccocoso NARSHFIELD GOODS BEEKEEPERS:— We manufacture Millions of Sections every year that are as good as the best. The CHEAPEST for the Quality ; BEST for the Price. If you buy them once, you will buy again. 1 § We also manufacture Hives, Brood- Frames, Section-Holders and Ship- ping-Cases. Our Catalog is free for the asking. &00 Marshfield Mfg. Co., Marshfield, Wis. e^ OSOSOSOOOSSOSOSCCCOSOOOOOSOOOOOOOQOQiSCOCtSOOQOQQOOQO Beekeepers' Supplies and Fruit Packages We manufacture the famous Sheboygan Hive, which always gives absolute satisfaction. Our perfect sections, made from selected white basswood, are rec- ognized as the best on the market. Catalog now ready for distribution. Write for copy. SHEBOYGAN FRUIT BOX COMPANY, Sheboygan, Wisconsin MS<>eCCO90C<}CO00000000CCOSCO9O00000e00CiSCO0aCCOQC<0CCC0SiSCCCCOSeQCOOOSOOOOOOOSCCOOOSOOOOSOOC00000090iOOO«>SOQ< PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. IVIanufacturers OF THE "NONE BEHER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from young, white, basswood, White Pine Hives and Supers, Excellent ShiDDin? ■ Cases. Brood-Frames, Separators, etc. We invite your correspondence. Guarantee — All foods ruaranteed perfect in workmanship and material or money cheerfully refunded. Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New LondoHf Wis. DUADD WANTS YOUR ORDERS rniiiin for queens Goldens and 3-Banded Italians I For twelve years we have asked for your orders and we have eottenall we could fill and sometimes more. But we have ever tried to serve you ri^ht. and will guarantee similar treat- ment in the future. Prices of Untested. $i.oo; Tested. $1.50; Breeders. 3-00 to $5.00. Write for prices in larce quantities. 2-frame Nuclei, queenless. $2.25 colonies with Queen 8.00 All F. O. B. Berclair. Orders booked now— delivery last ol May or June John W. Pharr, Berclair, Texas Try My Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what onecustomer writes;— Josephine. Tex.. June 16, IQ13. Mr. M. Bates. Greenville. Ala „,u,vs Dear Sir.-l am sendingyou $0.00 for w 1 en please send me 12 Untested Go'd^n Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are hne. and old bee rearers say they are the hnest they ever saw. They have surely made a reputation here for you. Several men say they will order queens soon.^^ Morrison. I have other letters that say the same Selected Untested, each 00c: Tested, each li 25; 2-frame nuclei, each J2.50. I tuarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. M. BATES, Route 4, Greenville, Ala. CARNIOLAN QUEENS Carniolans are excellent winterers, build up rapidly in the spring, are Tery gentle. very prolific, cap their combs very white, enter supers readily, and keep their colonies strong at all times. Write for our free pa- per. "Superiority of the Carniolan Bee." ex- plaining more fully, rlvinr briefly best sys- tems of manaeement. Untested queens, li.oo each; doz. $0.00. One-lb. packaee bees with- out queen. $i.;o; with queen, $; 50. in June. ALBERT C. HANN, Clinton, New Jersey Carniohin Queen- Breeder. ' ^^^ *^^^^->§§^->»^^->@^->@ §«-->§ ^->@^«-^§^-)^ ^->@§ m- SPECIAL DELIVERY During this month we shall double our usual efforts in points of delivery and service. We carry nothing but the Root make, which ensures the best quality of every thing. We sell at factory prices, there- by ensuring a uniform rate to every one. The saving on transportation charges from Cincinnati to points south of us will mean quite an item to beekeepers in this territory. We are so located that we can make immediate shipment of any order the day it is received. New 64-Page Catalog Our new 1914 catalog contains double the pages of former editions, and requires extra postage. It is filled from cover to to cover with complete lists of goods In every line to meet every requirement of bee- keepers. If you haven't received a copy when you read this, be sure to ask for one. It will save you money. New Features for 1914 Few radical changes have been made this season. It should be noted, however, that we will send out with regular hives, unless otherwise ordered, the metal telescopic or R cover with super cover underneath. The side rail for the bottom-board will be extra length so as to overcome the difficulty experienced by some last season. Improvements have been made in extractors. We shall carry a very heavy stock so orders may be filled with our usual promptness. Write us your needs. Early-order discount this month 2 percent. C. H. W. WEBER & CO. CINCINNATI, 2146 Central Avenue, OHIO -^§^->@ ^->^^@< >'^)^'<->^ ^^^->^ ^ >%%( *^^->^@«->^^^1 m^^J^^^^ 1^ 11 WE MAKE IT GOOD THE BEES NAKE IT FAMOUS ^i^^^*w J ^ •^'*JX The Reputation of ^^,^:^S tTt T T S DADANfS FOUNDATION ®IS T*!^ ■* i^y^ ^"r Has been built on its merit ^Sf^^nxr w^ It is a Favorite with Beekeepers BECAUSE It is so well liked by the BEES ^m Whether it's a pound or whether it's a Ion, every sheet is PERFECT Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way 11 J^j^j^jT^T.T^T: -; ; ^ iJ. Sk^-^/ ■ r^'oSplMPM ^^ Beekeepers in Attendance at the Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Field Meet, July 28 290 September, 1914. American ^ee Journal PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Amerieau Bee Jouruai 1st Nat'l Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $loo a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. Ii.io; and in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December. 1014. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-Wedonot send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 5 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 3 times 14c a line 9 times iic a line d " I2c " ij " (I yr.l IOC a line Reading Notices, 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 23d of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bees More Beautiful, More Gentle, More iDdnitrioal. Loog Toflgaed, Tbe Best HoD«y-Gathereri. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Agricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. I8g5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. i8g6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Liege Belgium. i8g6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. IQ07. ni^^^ Universal Exposition, St. Louis, W^W U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Dominion of Canada. Department of Agri- culture. Central Experimental Farm. Ottawa. Sept. s. igia Sir: — I am pleased to inform you that the three queens were received in good condi- tion, and have been safely introduced. (Signed) C. Gordon Hewitt. Dominion Entomoloi^ist. Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. .Stillwater. Oct 7. igi3. Your queen arrived in first class condition, and introduced her without any difficulty. (Signed. Prof. E. C. Sanhorn. State h.uto}nolot:ist. Extra BreedineQueens.$3.oo: Selected. $2.00; Fertilized. $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of tliel ANTHONY BIAGGI, National Bee- - Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass'n) Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. ITALIAN QUEENS NORTHERN BRED Superior winterers, sec- ond to none. My free list explains it all. Untested. 75c for Aug. and Sept. Select tested. $1.50. Bees by the pound or half pound. Plans. "How to Introduce Queens." 15 cents. "How to Increase." 15 cents: both. .:; cents. E. E. MOTT, Glenwood, Mich. FEATURES OF ADVANTAGE OF THE ROLLER ENTRANCE BOTTOM BOARD 1. It allows feedine duringany time of the day or year— at mid-day or in mid-winter. 2. It controls the mat- ing of the queen so that mismating is prevented. 3. It settles the robber bee question as the rol- ler can be quickly turn- ed to bring the small entrance into position. a. It sifts automatical- ly undesirable drones out of the hive, and cages them in the drone trap. 5. It permits ample ventilation at the height of the honey-flow. 6. It can be instantly closed when moving bees in and out of cellars or from one yard to another. 7. It permits undesirable queens to be sifted out by screening the bees through the wire entrance. 8. It prevents swarms from going to the tops of trees or away to the woods when the beekeeper is.away. Q. It practically eliminates swarming, as the colonies usually show no inclination to swarm. Why. I do not know. 10. It is adjustable to make a shallow bottom for summer and a deep one for winter. It contains many other valuable features which will be apparent to any beekeeper upon investigation, and if it isonce tried it will alwavs be used. 8-frame size, $2.00; 10-frame size, $2.50. Italian ~ Nothmg sold under $io. used. ian Queens, Breeders, $10 to $25. CHAS. G. SCHAMU INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER Box 48, LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK SHIPPING CASES SPECIFICATIONS One-piece cover, bottom and back, one-fourth inch thick and smooth on both sides. Ends one-half inch thick, smooth on both sides and hand-lioled. Glass rails three-eights inch thick, smooth on both sides. Lumber free from rot, shake, and loose or rough knots. Corrugated straw board in the bottom and paper cover- ing on top. Where can you find a better case V One-piece cover and bottom makes a much better and stronger case than a pieced cover or bottom. Our shipping cases must be seen to be appreciated. Why do you pay more money for n.n inferior article 'i Get our prices and save money. MINNESOTA BEE SUPPLY CO. Zl^l '£ Manufacturers of Dovetail Hives, Sections, Hoffman Frames, Etc. QUINN'S QUEENS OF QUALITY Not coming, but are here to stay. Best bee for any climate. Purest of the pure GREY CAUCASIANS Hred strictly in the liulii ul Mendel's Laws of Heredity; no siuess, bnt positive results. The Liioneer scientific qiieen-rearine estab- lisliment of America. We lead, others may follow. lC\ery queen euaranteed as lo l>urity of matine. .Special isolated mating station on bald open prairie, not a tree within miles— no chance for gyiisy drones. LARGEST, BEST CHAS. Box 389 W. QUINN Beaumont, Texas and most complete line of Bee and Poultry Supplies ever seen in Illinois at the lowest living prices. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Established in i8go Send ior our new cataloe. Let us hear from you. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, III. WESTERN BEE KEEPERS IVI.%':.\ eet the best k'oods obtainable, especially made to meet Western condition. Send for new catalog and si»ecial price list to Colorado Honey-Producers' Association Denver, Colorado Septenilipr. 1!U4. CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or lo frame. 25c each. Covers and bottoms, prices upon application. Fal- con Foundation and Bee Supplies. FROFALCON QUEENS Everything for the beekeeper. Address. J. C. Frohliger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco PVaae mentioo Am. B«e Journal when writing. American "Bgc -JonrnalJ Bingham Bee Smoker n A n il FA' Foot-Cower DAnllCO iachinery Read wh&t J. i Paakmt, of Cli*r»- ton, N. T., Bays: •'Wb ent with ob« Df your Combtned Machines, la«t winter W chaff hires with 7-iiLcaR 100 honey-racts WO brtxjd-frame^ 1,000 houe^-boxeo, asvi » great deal. of other w-orfc. This winter we bav* loiibLfi UiQ amcFont of beA-hiTeSteto^, l3 make and wb expecttodo itwlth \hifl Baw It will da aB yon say Vi wUL" Cataloff aoi price-list tn* (\A^»m, W. r k90&M SA&irSft - J^ I'Uase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan Bred in Separate Yards Untested, one. 75c; 6, $4.25; 12. J750: 25 14 25: too. $30. Tested, one. $1 so; six. $8.00; 12. |i5- Breeders of either strain. $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame. $2.50; six one-frame. $15; two-frame $3. 50: six two- frame $20.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $J.oo; six one-frame. $17.40: two-frame. $4; six two frame $23.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arri%'al. satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. QUEENS of MOORE'S STRAIN of ITALIANS PRODUCE WORKERS That till the supers quick With honey nice and thick. They have won a world-wide, reputa- tion for honey fathering, hardiness, gen- tleness, etc. Untested queens. $1.00; six. $5.00; 12. $g.oo. Select untested. $1.25; six. $6.00; 12. $11.00 Safe arrival andsatisfaction guaranteed' Circular free. J. P. MOORE, Queen-breeder Route 1, Morgan, Ky Fine Italian Queens Warranted Tested. 75c each in quan- tities tosuit you. Xoculls. Queens strictly A No. i. reared from select honey gatherers and mated to select drones. These are equal to queens that sold for $1.00 to $1 2S earlier in the season. Will sell for 75c each while they last. Give me a trial order. No disease. CHAS. M. DARROW Star Route, Milo, Mo. P)1NGHAM P>EE Smoker Patented Nearly Forty Years On the Market The original bee smoker was invented and patented by Mr. T. F. Bingham in 1878, 1882, 1892 and 1903. The Bingham Smoker is up to date, and the standard in this and many foreign countries. It has recently been improved, and is the all-important tool of the most exten- sive honey producers of the world. No other invention in apiculture has been so important, as little could be accom- plished without the bee smoker. For sale direct or at your dealers. Postage extra. Smoke Engine. Doctor Conqueror Little Wonder. .4 inch stove. Weight iH pounds. $1.25 .3}^ '" '■ " ifs •• .8s ■'„ ." .■; ;: '^^ ." 75 -2!' I .50 Two Largest Sizes With Hinged Cover A. G. WOODMAN COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan BEE - KEEPER'S NOVELTY POCKET - KNIFE Your Name and Address will be put on one side of the handle as shown in the cut, and on the other side a picture of a Queen-Bee, a Worker-Bee, and a Drone-Bee. The handle is celluloid, and transparent, through which is seen your name. If you lose this Knife it can be returned to you, or it serves to iden- tify you if you happen to be injured fatally, or rendered unconscious. The cut is tfie exact size. We have succeeded in getting this knife made in lots from gen- uine car-van steel. It is especially well tempered and keeps its edge remarkably. When ordering be sure to write exact name and address. Knife delivered within two weeks after we receive order. Price, postpaid, $1.00; or with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal — both for $1.80; or given Free as a premium for sending us 3 New sub- scriptions at $1.00 each. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land — None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEE SUPPLY CATALOG to every bee-keeper in the land. It is FREE Ask for it. H. S. Duby. Si. Anne, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices. AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. QUICK SHIPMENT OF QUEENS of 3-band stock reared for honey gathering qualities Untested, June, $1.00. Later,75e Tested, $1.50. Select tested, $2. Send your orders now and be as- sured of having queens when you want them. R. A. 8HULTS, Cosby, Tenn. CAUCASIANS and CARNIOLANS I was the first to import each of these races from its native land; ^i years' experi- ence with Carniolans; tz with Caucasians Untested queens. $t un Hve for54.oo. Tested. S2 00 each. FRANK BENTON, P. O. Box 17, Washington, D. C. 292 September, 1914. American Hee Journal falcon" QUEENS Three-band and Golden Italians, Caucasians and Carniolans SELECT Untested luly 1st to Oct. 1st, one, $ .80; six, $1-50; twelve, $ 8.50 Untested, July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, 1.00; six, 5.50 ; twelve. 10.00 Tested, $1.50 each. Select tested, 2 00. All queens are reared in strong and vigorous colonies, and mated from populous nuclei. Instructions for introducing are to be found on the reverse side of the cage cover. A full line of bee supplies and foundation manufactured by us at Falconer, N. Y. Write for samples of our foundation and Red Catalog, postpaid. WESTERN DISTRIBUTERS: C. C. demons, Bee Supply Co., 128-130 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Missouri OTHER DEALERS EVERYWHERE Red Catalog, postpaid "Simplified Beekeeping," postpaid W. T. FALCONER MFG. CO., FALCONER N. Y. Where the good bee hives come from we HONEY LABELS Owing to the many enquiries we have had for Honey Labels, have put in a line of these for tlie convenience of our readers. Send for catalog, giving samples of labels with postpaid prices. We also list Envelopes and printed Letter Heads. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Sllinois. SPECIAL OFFER Will sell ?oo choice tested Italian Queens at 85c each. These are the very best queens in our 3 apiaries, and will guar- antee every queen togive entire satisfac- tion. If not satisrted within one year we will refund your money. FRED LEININGER & SON Delphos, Ohio Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doine our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wideawake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in ail. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in igij, when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for IQ14. For igi4 we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years. In decidingjust what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority. JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue tor IQ12. In getting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raising and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY— Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for IQ12 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruitgrowers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subject. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in //S8eCOOaiO«0!»Q!>CO00SO0Cie^: v^vvS^ /i ' II '^^H only the .Vosema apis of Zander and the /iiuillus gaytoni of Cheshire, but several forms of " dysentery " or " ref- ertum," which are called "refertum pollinis, refertum viscini, refertum dextrini, refertum nutrici;e," besides artificial poisoning and natural pois- oning. However, " dysentery " should not be described as "refertum," for the latter word is Latin, and means "full, fullness." The fullness of the bowels in these cases is rather constipation than dysentery. But if only half of those diseases are specific and distinct, we are on the way to much valuable information. We wrote to Europe for greater light upon the subject, but the present unfortunate war conditions are absorb- ing the attention of our friends across the Atlantic. Our sympathy goes to them. Nations need to do away with czars, kaisers and emperors. We have a few jingoes in America, but they would never lead us into such insani- ties as the present European war. Ai'iARv OF E. T. Carlson at Aledo, III, Humble Bees in New Zealand Bulletin No. 46 (New Series), of the New Zealand Department of Agricul- ture, is just at hand. It contains 30 pages with illustrations, and has for its subjeC, ■' History of the Humble Bee in New Zealand." Our old friend, Mr. Isaac Hopkins, for many years govern- ment apiarist in that country, is the author. Mr. Hopkins is an authority on this subject as well as on the honey bee. He was among the first to import humble-bees into New Zealand Previous to 1870, the farmers of New Zealand were able to get but little seed from red clover, owing tn the absence of this bee. Such seed as was set, Mr. Hopkins states, was due to the presence September, 1914. 297 American IBae -Journal of the honey-bee. In 1872 73, several importations were made but with little success, and it was not until 1884-85 that the first humble bees were success- fully introduced. Their propagation was rapid. Within a year some of these bees were reported as far as 100 miles from the place where the first ones had been liberated. The increase in amount of seed har- vested from the red clover increased in direct proportion to the number of humble-bees, until at present large quantities of seed are harvested. Such was the case also with a few different grasses which had be n difficult of propagation previously. Mr. Hopkins believes that it is ad- visable to make further importations of several species of humble-bees which are not yet found in this country in the hopes that they will be better able to stand the climate of certain portions where red clover is little grown for seed at present, owing to the absence of this insect. In the course of the booklet, life his- tory of the humble-bee is given with a description of the queen, size of colo- nies, method of hibernation, disease germs, etc. The appendix contains remarks by Mr. W. W. Smith, F. E. S., and also has a description on each specie of the humble-bee. The bulletin, 2000 copies of which were printed in March, 1!I14, makes very interesting reading. Its illustra- tions are e.xcellent, and Mr. Hopkins writes in his usual easy style which is in itself an attraction. Sweet Clover Agaiu The case of sweet clover has been given another boost, before the public, by Prof. Mosier, of the Illinois State Agricultural Experiment Station, at the Chautauqua of Hamilton, on Aug. 15. Not only he said that sweet clover was a far better legume to enrich soil than any other legume, but he reported that he had planted last fall 65 acres of red clover and 6 acres of sweet clover. Owing to the drouth, the red clover was about all killed out, while the sweet clover had yielded a crop of four and four-tenths tons of hay per acre. He also averred that sweet clover is almost as good hay as alfalfa. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Albino Queens. — Mr. Alfred Alex, of Yorktown, Tex., is desirous of obtain- ing the names of breeders handling Albino stock. Any one having such stock should correspond with Mr. Alex. Winter in New Zealand The last issue of the New Zetland Farmer con- tains a half-page picture of the bee- keepers in attendance at the National Conference in Wellington recently. Their represention is fine. We were struck by the picture in that nearly all the members wore overcoats, until we recalled that the seasons there are just the reverse of what we have here. The honey producer is at his busiest there when we of the North are taking things quietly and profiting by spare moments to catch up with our reading. meeting, which was held at the Cham- ber of Commerce headquarters. Sev- eral of them made talks, in which they declared that this section of the coun- try was well adapted to bee culture, as shown by results that have been ob- tained by those in the business. In different parts of the State there are beekeepers, and it is thought that the membership can be increased to 100 without much difficulty. Efforts to well the list will be made promptly. Officers of the association for the first year were chosen. President, G. F. Pease ; vice president, W. S. Carney ; secretary-treasurer, L. T. Rogers. Massachusetts Field Day. — One of the biggest joint annual field day meet- ings of the Worcester County Beekeep- ers' Association and Eastern Massa- chusetts Society of Beekeepers in the history of the county took place at the home of O. F. Fuller, president of the former organization and promi- nent queen-breeder in Blackstone, on Aug. 8. Mr. Ellsworth spoke of the progress that has been made in the apiary in- spection work. Dr Gates spoke of the plan of the Massachusetts Agricultural College whereby it will be possible to demon- strate the fundamental principles of beekeeping at the large fairs in Massa- chusetts this fall. Arrangements have been completed to attend the Fitch- burg fair, the New England fair at Worcester, the Brockton fair, and the fair at Northampton in October. At each of these will be an extensive equipment, consisting of a demonstra- tion tent, supplied with a work bench and display tables, and a cage in which demonstrations of handling bees will be made, together with a small model apiary. The display will also include the most recently approved methods used in beekeeping. Demonstrations will be given daily by various authori- ties. This is probably the first attempt to promote apiculture through the me- dium of agricultural fairs. Arthur C. Miller, of Providence, R. I., spoke briefly concerning the devel- opment of his method of direct intro- duction of queens through the use of smoke. A. W. Yates, of Hartford, bee inspec- tor for Connecticut, and queen-breeder, demonstrated in detail his type of "let- alone " hive. This is a modification and development of the smaller hive of Allen Latham, of Norwich, Conn. E. M. F. Tittle, of Woonsocket, gave an interesting address concerning bee- keeping in early days. This was an historical account of beekeeping from Liaisiani Association Formed Louis- iana is going to be placed in t 'e front rank of honey producing States if the plans of an organization formed in Shreveport are developed as expected by members of the organization, which is to be known as the Louisiana State Beekeepers' Association. Twenty or more persons engaged in this industry attended the organization Distant View of the Massachusetts .\i;rici;ltural College Apicultural Building and Experimental Apiary. 298 September, 1914. American Hee Journal _„ ,j-r;" ■ . .fc:. M .Mm MR ■ ,^^. H.'^ * • ^^B^^B^ "j^^^lPmH^^^^^^^ te*--. "MBBHIM^^-' John L. Byard in the Experimental Apiary. the Greco-Roman period to the mod- ern times. There were numerous displays by beekeepers, especially by Ross Bros., of Worcester, who had a well-selected assortment of beekeepers' implements, including hives, smokers, and other tools of the business. Mr. Earl M. Nichols, of Lyonsville, queen-breeder, also had a display. Mr. Nichols had specimens of queen-bees in their mailing cages. At the demand of the beekeepers. Dr. Yates and Dr. John I. Baird, a former inspector, but now superintendent of apiaries at the Massachusetts Agricul- tural College, demonstrated the pro- cedure in treating bees for infectious diseases. O. F. Fuller also demonstrated his method of queen rearing, which is markedly different from the commer- cial methods. By this method Mr. Fuller has been able to secure queens when others fail, especially late in the season. In his specially constructed hives he has kept drones as late as January. — ^ Bees Attack Dr. Bonney. — While Dr. Bonney, of Buck Grove, Iowa, was tak- ing down a decoy hive full of bees last evening (June UO), Master Claude Welch came to assist him, when the bees at- tacked the lad. The Doctor, to save the boy, took his veil off and put it over the boy's head, when the angry insects assaulted the Doctor. The Doi tor wears but few clothes in warm weather, and the bees found many vul- nerable points. However, ."lO or (iO stings do not bother him much, and he went on with his work. — Ex. Concerning this accident Dr. Bon ney writes : I send this only because there was no swelling on my face, neck and arms, and possibly I have discovered some- thing. I was stung 10 or W times; a few more or less do not figure. Twice over one eye, once on the nose, twice on the cheek, and once on the cl.in. By this time I got my handkerchief over my head, then picked up a dozen or so on the neck and where my chest was exposed, also on the arms. Getting away from the bees I went to the yard with the decoy hive, and going into the honey house began to look for something to stop the hurt- ing, for it did hurt like the very devil. Spying a bottle of 40 percent solution of formaldehyde I applied that, only because it was the only thing in sight save some denatured alcohol. Did the formaldehyde prevent the swelling ? Try it ? BeeKeepers' Field Day The bee- keepers of northern Illinois and south- ern Wisconsin will hold a Field Dav at Black Hawk Park, Rockford, 111.,' on Wednesday, Sept. 9. C. P. Dadant, edi tor of the American Bee Journal, A. L. Kildow, State Inspector of Illinois, and if possible N. E. France, State Inspec- tor of Wisconsin, will be present. A colony of diseased bees will be shown and the disease discussed. Every beekeeper is cordially invited to attend this meeting. A profitable and enjoyable day is anticipated. A large attendance is expected. A. L. KiLDOw, Stale Insfieclor of Afiaries. The Des Noines Meet. — This conven- tion was the fifth of a series of summer meetings being held throughout the State by the Iowa Beekeepers' Associa- tion. The event took place at the Dustman apiary, July 15, when an at- tendance of about 126 persons ex- changed experiences. The program was featured by prac- tical bee talks by Frank C, Pellett, State Bee Inspector; Prof. Bartholo- mew, of the Iowa Agricultural College ; Judge A. P. Chamberlain and Prof. C. H. Tye, of Des Moines, and by practi- cal beekeepers. Few beekeepers held out much hope for a good honey year this season, but the poor prospects did not seem to lessen their enthusiasm for keeping on in their work. Last year was excep- tionally profitable in most sections, and they said it would make up for this year. Mr. Tye spoke of the bee asan econo- mic friend of man. Bees, he said, are one of the greatest agencies in trans- ferring pollen from the male to the female flowers. The body of the bee is covered with fine, hair-like particles, and when the bee enters one flower to get nectar, these hairs collect pollen and leave it on and fertilize other flow- ers. Prof Tye said no section could be a good fruit country unless it had plenty of bees, making the bees useful and important not only for honey pro- duction, but for successful fruit grow- ing. An important point brought out by Mr. Tye was that fruit growers should be very careful in their spraying, to do it at a time when the bees are not working in the blossoms. He said the object of using poisons in the spray mixture was to kill insects, and that what would kill the harmful ones would be strong enough to kill the bees. To avoid killing the bees, the speaker recommended spraying before the blossoms appeared, and then de- lay the second spraying until after the fruit forms. This plan would be just as effective against the pests, and it would protect the bees which are so essential in fruit growing. Foulbrood, which is putting so many beekeepers out of business, was the subject of the State Bee Inspector, Mr. Pellett. He mentioned three promi- nent bee diseases, sacbrood, American foulbrood and European foulbrood. The first is a very mild disease, and never causes very serious loss. The only way to combat American foulbrood successfully is to melt up all the honey and wax, says Mr. Pellett. A light chocolate color in the larvae makes the disease easy to recognize when it first breaks out. In the ad- vanced stages the colorbecomes darker and resembles roasted coffee. The dis- ease usually begins at about the time of capping. Decaying larvae which have died have the odor of a poor quality of glue. If European foulbrood is discovered in time, it need not be so serious as the American. Mr. Pellett said the best way to get after this is to kill the old queens and replace them with Ital- ians, as they are more resistant to the disease. "The European foulbrood seems to be an entirely different dis- ease, and larv.-e are attacked at an ear- lier stage than with the American. There is a small yellow spot on the body near the head of the larvs when the disease first breaks out, and very few of the cells are capped. After death occurs the larvae (urn yellow, then brown, and finally almost black. Marketing of honey was discussed by Mr. H. B. Miller, of Marshalltown. Although Mr. Miller has been in the bee business only a few years, he has built up a profitable market for his product. The annual convention of the State association will be held at Ames Nov. 17. 18, and 19 in connection with a short course on apiculture. A feature will be a beehive products exhibit in which all beekeepers are invitedto compete. — ITallaces Farmer. When the Trouble Started.— Slagg had lived all his life in the city. Never had he seen anything in the vegetable line except factory made grass until he decided to spend the summer work- ing on Cousin Hiram's farm. Not September, 1914. American Vae Journal knowing much in the way of driving a hoe or a harrow, the new farm hand was put to work whitewashing the out- buildings, while the rest of the staff took to the cornfields. When Cousin Hiram returned to the house at noon, Slagg was sitting on the woodpile look- ing as if he had been crawling on his face through 10 acres of sand burs. "Give me my money, boss," said he in a mournful voice. " I'm going back to town." "What have ye been doin' to yer- self?" asked Cousin Hiram, wonder- ingly sizing up the new hand. "What's happened ?" " I don't know exactly what happen- ed," was the dejected reply of Slagg, "but it started when I tried to white- wash that thing they call a beehive." — Philadelphia Tilegraph. while the imports amount to only $G8,717. The latter is inferior honey, for the price is a trifle less than 60 cents per gallon. ing more and more interesting each year. H. S. DuBY. United States Statistics The Year Book of the Department of Agricul- ture for 1913 shows importations of beeswax of 828,793 pounds at about 30,6 cents per pound. Exports of the same 116,296 pounds. The comb foun- dation exported evidently does not ap- pear in this amount, for the price given of the beeswax exported is less than 30 cents per pound. Perhaps there is some error in the reckoning. Honey exported amounts to $182,252, Tlie Field Day at St. Anne The pic- ture sent under separate cover is a part of those present at the field meet of the Eastern Illinois Beekeepers' Asso- tion, which met at St. Anne. 111., July 11, and was one of the best ever held in Illinois. Over 75 were present, and it was evident that the crowd would be too large to have all of them at one time in the yard at good advantage, so two groups were formed; the first with I. E Pyles, who took excessive pains to instruct his hearers. The second group was under the care of A. L. Kildow, and was mostly ladies. Mr. Kildow was at his best, and aston- ished some of the ladies the way he handled "those bees," and "did not get a sting." Veils had been provided for the occasion, though the bees were very gentle and no one was stung. After the demonstration the people went to the shady lawn where the two inspectors gave lectures to a very at- entive audience. After many thanks to H. S. Duby for his kindness in letting them have the use of his yard and disturbing " his bees," the meeting adjourned. This was the 4th annual meeting held in St. Anne. These meetings are grow- Tlie Mt. Pleasant Meeting. — Starting from our home at 5:30 on the morning of July 28, with an automobile, we reached Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, 50 miles away, at 8:10. Comingfrom the north, with his wife and daughters, Frank Coverdale living 118 miles away, started at 4 a.m., and reached the place of meeting a little before noon. In this day of speed, two farmers may leave their homes on the opposite edges of some of our great States, get together for a talk and go back home the same day, without having to bother with train schedules. What will it be when we succeed in building decent roads throughout the United States ? These are needed, for a sudden rain puts an end to all the pleasure of such trips. The meeting at Mt. Pleasant was only fairly attended when we compare it with previous meetings at other places. But it made up in enthusiasm what it lacked in numbers. The sessions were held in the ancient and dilapidated Court House of Henry county. A fine new Court House with modern con- veniences is just completed, and will be in use soon. We had the pleasure of meeting there one of our oldest practical men, J. A. Thomas, of Mt. Pleasant, whom I had met for the first time at a bee- CoNVENTiON Group at the St. Anne, III., Field Meet. July ii, ivu 300 September, 1914. American Vee Jonrnal keepers' meeting at Burlington, Iowa, May 7, 1878, or 36 years ago. In the absence of the secretary, Mr. L. W. Elmore was made secretary fro t,-m. Frank Coveruale The discussions included considera- tion of the Quinby -,'s. the Langstroth hive, by J. A. Thomas. The Quinby hive had more supporters, at this meet- ing, than usual, and a strong appeal was made in its favor. Then Mr. Pel- lett gave some views on the question of marketing and advertising the honey crop, saying that with a little money, judiciously spent, beekeepers could Mrs. Coverdai.k very much increase the demand for honey, making the price much more satisfactory. The qualities of the different races were thoroughly discussed, especially as regards their possible immunity from disease. The verdict was strongly in favor of the Italian race. Organization among beekeepers was recommended in a paper by Mr. Baxter, with the greatest stress on State organi- zations, for both the purchase of sup- plies and the sale of the apiary pro- ducts. The clou of this meeting was the dis- cussion of the growing of sweet clover, led by the king of sweet clover grow- ers, Frank Coverdale, whose name ought to be "Cloverdale." Nothing new was brought forward, however, outside of the emphasis of the useful- ness of sweet clover as a feeding crop, as a soil enricher and as a honey pro- ducer. This is beingacknowledged on all sides, and sweet clover is coming into its own. Wherever it is grown largely there is very little chance of honey crop failures. Leaving the place of meeting again at 5 p.m., we were home in time for supper. We use Ford automobiles. They are the cheapest and best for the money. Light cars are desirable for the farmer. I once owned an Over- land. They are considered as good cars. Mine was a cripple, for I never went anywhere with it without having trouble. When I became tired of pay- ing for repairs in every neighboring city garage, I wrote the company to complain. They promised to send a machinist to e.xamine the car, but never did, so we finally traded it off for a little Ford, and we now have three of these in use. Bee-I^eping ^ For Women Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson, Mareneo. 111. A Letter from New York " In your ' Fifty Years Among the Bees' you wrote of a colony which did not swarm (the one in the four hive bodies with openings all the way up and at the top). Didn't the rain going in all those openings hurt them, or the brood and uncapped honey ? "The attached picture shows my one colony, kept for the joy of watching their ways. A year ago I bought four frames of Italian bees with an e.xtra select tested queen which I found and clipped the next week, and they have not been cross in spite of my fussing with the shade boards and ' swatting ' the hornets and bumble-bees that bother them. The bumble-bees bother them a great deal. " This spring I saw a humming bird poke his bill in at the entrance. Evi- dently he did not reach any honey, for he has not been there again. "The bottom-board was too tight to pry loose without disturbing them, but they have a full entrance (lO-frame hive) with the other entrances front and back, but not at the top, two full bodies for the brood, three extracting supers (one with foundation, and the 10 drawn combs from last year divided between the other two), and at the top a comb-honey super which is partly drawn out. Surely, they have room enough and air enough ; yet on a humid day there will be anywhere from 50 to 200 out on the platform. Do they always do that ? "My loose hanging frames hang on spaced metal rabbets, but I have cut down those spacing shoulders and put nails in the frames, '« In Miller,' and have spacing nails in my extracting frames the same way, using eight of these to a super; so much easier to handle. " There has been a great growth of white clover here this year. I never saw so much before. We have had so much cool wet weather lately, but there seems to be a flow right along from something; they even work in the rain. "This morning they were coming back to the hive at 4 :30, and the last few returned at night around 7:4.5. Do all bees have as long a working day or are mine an exception ? "In August they are very busy on a plant called ' Joe Pye's weed ;' then they have golden-rod, asters, and other fall flowers up on South Mountain, just west of us; so that they worked until the middle of October last year. This year they started the latter part of March, and early in April were work- ing hard. " I am sending you a picture of my winter case, which worked like a charm. View Of Mus. Savers' Hive. Shade Board AND Ohservation Seat The back was fastened with hasps, so that it could be taken off after the cover was removed, and scoop out all the sawdust without disturbing the bees. The cover was painted canvas over wood, and had deep cleats inside which fitted down in the body so the wind could not lift it. " Tar paper covered the wooden case, and the portico was made to shelter September, 1914. American ;Bge Journal^^^^ 301 Winter \'ie\v of Mrs. Savers' Single Colony the entrance, but as you can see by the other picture, we had some very heavy snows this winter, so I laid a board against the portico, thus keeping the entrance dry. They had a great many flights and wintered well. I had a chaff tray over a Hill's device on the brood- chamber, and w'len I took it off ."Vpril 24, they had built comb from the tops of frames to the Hill's device. Propo- lis is abundant in this locality, and they glue everything fast. "The little stool shown in the picture is where I sit to watch them, and no matter how thick they are flying around, not one ever bothers me. Do you think they recognize the person who is around them so much ? " My shade board works well (the hive faces east and I use a second shade board at the south until the grapevines above them give more shade). We have a bamboo porch screen stretched on the arbor above them to help shade them, and when it rains too hard I put pieces of 'quarter round ' over the extra openings on the rainy side. " Your book has been a great help, and all beginners should have it. I also look for your articles and ' An- swers ' in my Bee Journals. " (Mrs.) Gr.'^ce A. M. S.wers. " Nyack, N. Y." The foregoing letter, with the beauti- ful pictures accompanying it, has been handed over by Dr. Miller for publica- tion in this, its appropriate department, and the replies here given are in ac- cordance with his views. Those pictures are interesting sub- jects for study. One of them shows Mrs. Sayers' " apiary " almost covered with snow, in the center of the picture ; another gives a nearer view to show the manner of its winter dress ; while the third, exquisite gem that it is, shows the "apiary" in its coolest dress for hot weather. A close look at this third picture shows that the different stories are " stuttered ;" that is, that they are shoved back and forth to admit ventilation. Some of us who have to work at the hives all day long in the sweltering heat can but envy Mrs. Sayers that shady seat on which to watch the bees and listen to their drowsy hum. Nothing drowsy about the bees, to be sure, but did you never notice a drowsy feeling coming over you if you sat for any length of time watching the bees and listening to their steady murmur ? But why in the world was not Mrs. Sayers herself sit- ting on the seat when the picture was taken ? Mrs. Sayers raises the question that has probably troubled many another, as to whether in the " stuttered " pile the rain does not beat in through the openings and hurt the brood or un- capped huney. Well, we have had ex- perience enough in the matter to be able to tell something about it. For a quarter of a century or more we have had one or more of such piles every year, and we have had much more ex- perience in another way, for through- out most of tlie harvest on all hives having section supers an opening of a quarter of an inch or more has been allowed between the hive and the super at the back end. During all these years we have never noticed any harm from the rain entering these openings. If you will think about it you will see that the rain must be driven half an inch in a horizontal direction before it can touch the brood or honey. The most tliat probably happens is that a little clean water runs down at the ends of the frames, and in warm weather that can do no harm. It will be interesting and instructive if Mrs. Sayers will report how that comb-honey super on top of the three extracting supers turns out. One would hardly expect very much work to be done in it until after the extracting su- pers are filled. To be sure, that would also be true of an extracting super on top ; but the bees would be a good deal slower about working on foundation than on drawn combs. Of course, the sections being partly drawn out makes a difference. \'es, Mrs. Sayers, on a humid day it is nothing strange to see many more than 50 to 200 bees outside the hive, especially after the day's work is over in the evening. Even with abundant ventilation it is more comfortable oul- side than in. The question as to the length of a day's work for bees is not one to be answered in ten words. From 4 ;30 in the morning until 7 :45 at night is cer- tainly a long day's work, and is excep- tional. There is a difference in bees as to industry, and your bees may be ex- ceptional in that respect. \'ou will no doubt find, too, that 15'4 hours is an exceptional day's work for your bees. There seems some irregular'ty about the working of the bees that is a bit puzzling. Under what seem to be the same conditions they work at some The Single Colony Packed f r Winter September, 1914. American tee Jonrnal time; longrr tlian at others. Some- times they work as early and as late as the light will let them. The flow has much to do with it. So has the tem- perature. They will, of course, be slow about getting to work on a very cool morning. But sometimes, too, they are slow about getting out on a warm morning even in a good flow. It looks just a little as if they said to them- selves : " We worked hard all day yes- terday; we're tired, and we're entitled to a little extra rest this morning be- fore starting out." "Do bees recognize the person who is around them so much ?" Likely not. Yet when placed where people are con- stantly near them, or passing by, they are less likely to be on the offensive or defensive than when seldom seeing any one. Yet such bees act just the same toward an entire stratiger as to- ward their owner. There are some in- dications, however, that bees jeem to distinguish between individuals; al- though the recognition of their owner as compared with a stranger is a rec- ognition of emnity rather than of friendship. On a day when bees are quite cross, and the owner lias been working with them, and then after hav- ing been away from the apiary half an hour or so tlie owner should come with several strangers in the vicinity of the apiary, the bees will single out the owner and attack him, or follow him about in a scolding way. while the strangers may be undisturbed. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. A Beekeeper's Mountain Stroll I left my cottage for a three days' tramp through the mountain on a bright sunny morning in June, in com- pany with a party who knew the coun- try. We took with us a very light camping outfit, such as we could carry on our backs. We traveled only a short distance before we came to the slope. We started the ascent by the side of a beautiful stream that rushed and splashed as it passed over rocks and precipices. The large amount of sourwood which was ready to bloom attracted my at- tention. I remarked that if there were any bees in this part of the country, they would soon be storing honey. When the noise of the water permitted, we noticed a faint hum above us, and saw that there were bees in large num- bers working on slim-bodied trees which grew mostly on the water's edge. They were basswood. I looked for nectar. I saw tiny drops in each blos- som. These trees were loaded with drooping blossoms hanging in clus- ters. 1 understood why the beekeepers of the North could make such great crops of honey frotn this source. As I looked at the high straight trunks I re- marked that much had been said in our bee-papers about the supply of this timber fast diminishing, and that it would soon affect the supply of sec- tions. It's all ■' bosh," for the inex- haustible supply here would make such a thing impossible. The climb was toilsome, feet, and put the hive with frames and comb of brood in the place where the colony stood. Con- tract the entrance to a couple of inches and let them alone. This work must be done when a good number of bees are out in the fields; near the middle of the day is best. In a few minutes you have a thousand bees flying around, and they are completely lost. They will run in and out crai^y for a while, but soon get to work with a resolution that, "As we have lost our home and mother we have the wherewith to make a new home and brood to rear a new mother." By the end of the second day they will be working like nailers to build up, while the hive you carried away is as still as a graveyard on a Sunday night. Prac- tically all the field workers are at the old stand in the new hive. Now treat them the same as the first part of this article directs, and you have no swarms that year. By following this plan you have one swarm each of increase, or none, as you elect, not as the bees would do if left alone. Follow the above and save colonies, save watching them, save doubling weak ones, save hives, and what is more important when the honey flow comes in all its beauty, you have every field worker at work. They are not crazy over the swarming fever or losing time strung up waiting for a good day, or building combs when they should be lugging in honey, while honey lasts. Thus we have the bees all busy while honey comes, whereas if allowed to swarm in the middle of the honey flow, see what a loss you have caused by the demoralization of one two, three, or four swarms from one, and half of them won't get more than enough to winter on. My colonies were eight stories high last summer; and while my neighbors got 2.5 to .50 pounds of honey, I ran up to 1.50, 200, and one colony 235 pounds. You see it is honey I was after. Sequel: Build up strong before the honey flow, get the swarming out of the way, and let every able bodied bee tote in honey. By my method you can build up any kind of swarm you wish or any strain of bees, because you select the brood to rear the queen from. They more readily sober down by taking a frame of brood from the hive you remove and place it in the new hive, because it is a part of the old home and smells the same. They will never desert their brood. Grand Meadow, Minn. Bee Culture in German Switz- erland BY II. SPUHLER. THE culture of bees in German Switzerland differs very much from that in America. Instead of open air apiaries, we have house api- aries in which the hives are placed side by side and tiered in two or three rows. The apiaries are spacious buildings containing from 10 to 100 hives, and they often look very pretty from the outside. They are well aerated and lighted, and allow the bees to escape from the inside rooms without allow- ing tliem to come in. They are usually placed near the house of their owner, or in a garden or in an orchard. It is, therefore, easy to watch them, to notice their flight, to discover the beginning of robbing or of swarming, etc. They are sometimes built large enough to allow the establishment of a work shop in which the apiarist can work, prepare his frames with foundation, e.xtract the honey, and melt the sugar for feeding in fall or spring. It serves as storing room for empty combs, extractor, feed- ers, etc. In such a house apiary one can work in all sorts of weather, whether cold, warm or rainy. This is important in a country where the weather is so vari- able, and where we usually have over 150 rainy days in the year. The hives are not opened from above, but from the r :ar through a door. They offer sufficient space for a row of brood combs and two rows of super combs above, the latter measuring each one-half the dimension of the brood-combs. Behind the combs of each row is a movable window sash of proper size held in place bv a wooden wedge. The frames are usually placed cross- wise to the entrance in the Swiss hive, and for that reason examinations re- quire much time and labor; for in- stance, in the latter part of May, when a colony is supplied with all its combs, 13 in number, if we wish to examine the center one, we must remove the first six and place them in another hive or a box, which is used for this purpose. Those who follow this sys- tem do not seem to appreciate the proverb, "Time is money." This defect was recognized long ago, and there are now a number of hives made which are as movable as the American hives, such as the leaf hive of Ihirrnli (?), adapted to the Dadant hive, and my own hive, corresponding to the "Schweizerstock." In those hives, the frames are placed endwise to the entrance, so that when the rear sash is removed each frame is accessi- ble from the rear. This arrangement perm its numerous observations through the windows,such asnoting the growth of the colony, its supply of honey, its building of combs, queenlessness by the restlessness resulting from it, suc- cess or failure in introduction of queens, etc. The handling of these hives is so simple that it permits to ex- amine two or three of them, while only one of the Swiss hives could be ex- amined. The house apiary is also indispensa- ble here because of the lack of room, as many people possess only a very small garden. But it is usually suffi- cient in size to permit of a building containing 10 to 30 hives, and the bee lover can have an agreeable and in- structive recreation, with an addition to his resources. That is why we have so large a number of apiarists owning only a few colonies. The Canton of Zurich, with only tJG(J square miles of area, possesses 21,000 colonies of bees, owned by 1600 beekeepers, or about 30 colonies to the square mile, and IG colonies per beekeeper. Very few men possess 100 colonies, and I know but one with 200 to 300 hives, earning his living with bee culture. In his case, 312 September, 1914. American Hee Journal the purchase and sale of honey is more profitable than his honey production. As a rule, in German Switzerland the crop conditions are less favorable than in Romande Switzerland, where sain- foin is still largely cultivated. Here it is lacking. Our best localities are in the mountain valleys and in the plains where the pine yields honey abun- dantly. In the mountain where the bees can harvest from the bottom of the hill to the top, the crop is length- ened. In the plains it lasts but two or three weeks. If the weather is favor- able, the apiarist is in good humor, as the supers are then filled. But we do not have this pleasure mor ! than two or three times in ten years. We have another drawback which keeps increasing, it is the more inten- sive cultivation of the land for profit. Hazel, willow and alder furnish much HEINRICH Sl'UHLER pollen, but their wood is of low value, and they are constantly removed for something better. Chemical manures are also injurious to honey production. It is for these reasons that, in spite of improved methods, our honey crop has not increased in the past 30 years. The average is from 8 to Id kilos (18 to ti2 pounds), and the average crop of an apiary rarely reaches 30 to 40 kilos. In many cases our bees cannot harvest enough to winter, and we have to feed them, besides leaving to them all the honey gathered. Many beekeepers re- move most of the honey and replace it with sugar syrup. It is the low price of sugar which permits this. The race preferred in German Switz- erland is the black Swiss bee, while formerly the Italian and Carniolan races were thought best, and our own was considered as degenerate. The in- troduction of Italian and Carniolan bees has made a slight change in this race, which now often shows, in its bees, yellow bands or spots and gray hairs. Probably the mixture has helped its regeneration. For the past 15 years much time and care have been spent in the rearing of queens according to the principles fol- lowed in cattle raising, by selection of males and females. Every year, spe- cial courses and conferences are held by the breeders. The best black colo- nies are selected to supply eggs and larv.-e for breeding, and minute care is used to secure for them the most favor- able conditions during their growth. The riiatured cells are placed in boxes sufficiently large to accommodate a half pound swarm with two or three combs. Queens of selected stock are reared in an isolated location, a "mat- ing station" which is supplied with a colony containing choice drones. However these stations do not offer much guarantee of select matings, be- cause they are sometimes only a kilo- meter distant from other apiaries, and it is a fact that queens often prefer strange drones from a distance of 5 or f) kilometers (.'! to 4 miles). At the present time our apiarian au- thorities recommend in-breeding as an efficient means of fixing the good qualities of a race, while the Americans object, as we did once, that this in- breeding may cause degenerescence, and may be one of the principal causes of foulbrood. It may, therefore, be a good thing that our queens are able to mate at a great distance so as to pre- vent a risk as pernicious to bees as to beekeepers. Let us remain true to the principle that, in order to succeed, one should follow the natural laws existing among bees. Zurich, Switzerland. Fall Feeding of Sugar Syrup BY J. A. MCKINNON, IN your foot-note on page 129 of the April number of the American Bee Journal, you give the proper pro- portions of water and sugar for good bee feed. Every time I see that two to one formula given. I ask myself, does that beekeeper really know what he is talking about, or is it because he has the habit of saying it over so often, or is it because some one else said so and it must be so ? I have fed a few tons of sugar in dif- ferent proportions, and I consider the two to one way of making the syrup a most wasteful method, excepting when 10 percent of honey is added. Other- wise in the late fall, when nights are cool, one-third to one-half of the feed so made will granulate or candy so hard in the combs that the bees cannot eat it. I hear some one say. " I have never had that experience." Of such a one I would ask. have you ever looked throueh your hives and combs two or three days after feeding your colonies for winter with this two to one syrup ? If so, vou will be in a position to know; if not. vou had better wait until you try it. If a colony is given as much as it can take down in 24 hours ; that is, 2-5 to 10 povinds, fully one-half will be wasted, ami the fact might never be known to the beekeeper unless he took the trouble to examine the combs. as the bees will start to cut the candied sugar out at once, and if the weather should remain warm, the most of it is carried out at the entrance or to the field. With me, tartaric acid does not act much as a preventative. Last fall I had about SSOO pounds of sugar to feed for winter stores, and I thought I could prevent granulation by using a liberal amount of acid. I made some feed two parts sugar, one of water, adding one teaspoonful of the acid for every 20 pounds of feed. This did not help in the least, as in some hives the combs were candied almost solid. First, a thin crust would form on top of the unsealed syrup, and in the course of two or three days it would be as hard as flint. Anything that was sealed over did not appear to be candied. In cases where I fed only 10 pounds at a time the candying was not so bad, and where I fed early in the season, using a thinner feed, there were no candied stores. 1 don't know that locality should make any difference in this respect, but what puzzles me is that so many ex- tensive beekeepers endorse this method. I am under the impression that a good many beekeepers are wasting a lot of sugar, not to mention the time that it takes to dissolve it and cart it around the yard. Experience is the best teacher, and in my case it has cost me pretty high, and sometimes when I could least afford it. Last fall when I noticed that there was a lot of this candied stuff in some hives, I made the best of a poor job, by refeeding or exchanging for sealed combs of honey, or I would take out three or four combs and brush the bees off at the entrance, then take the combs to the water barrel, and souse them full of water. This seemed to help some, although in a few hives it caused brood- rearing to start late in the season. After this I will not feed any more of this two to one feed ; half and half will do very well for mine, and I will feed earlier in the season, so as to have most of the stores sealed over. Ten to 1.5 pounds of feed might be wasted un- known to the beekeeper, yet the col- ony might have enough stores left to winter. I would like to hear from others who have had experience, and who have taken the trouble to look through the hives two or three days after feed- ing for winter stores. Because one's colonies have always wintered, when fed this, is no proof; even an examina- tion the following spring will not re- veal much candied syrup unless the colony has died outright. St. Eugene, Ont. Editor Dadant suggested "two parts of sugar to one of water." Mr. Mc- Kinnon says "half and half will do very well for mine," and Editor Dadant de- sires my comment. My first thought is that I would rather not use either sugar or water. Honey is better than either, or both. Only in the niter ab- sence of honey would I feed sugar syrup nowadays, and it would then be with a guilty feeling that I ought to have managed better so as to have had on hand a supply of heavy combs of sealed honey, .^nd then if I did have to feed sugar, I wouldn't make it into syrup either thick or thin. I'd seta Miller feeder on a hive, pour into it dry sugar and then put in water. That's simpler, easier, pleasanter, and safer Seiiteniber. 1914. American Bee JoarnalJ than feeding syrup. Ever so much less danger of starting robbing. And if I were forced to feed sugar, I'd try to do it so early that it would do no hurt to liave tlie syrup very thin. All of which, however, has little to do with the case in hand. Let's get down to it. It is simply a question as to the proportion of sugar and water if syrup is fed, and I understand Mr. Mc- Kinnon to refer to late feeding — an im- portant factor. Mr. McKinnon does not agree with our Editor as to the proportion. Neither do I. Mr. Mc- Kinnon thinks he uses only half enough of water. 1 think he uses 25 percent too much water! My reason: Well, what's the use of giving the bees extra water to be evaporated at a time when the chances for evaporation are poor, and there is nothing to be gained by it ? Two parts of sugar to one of water is thitiner than honey; two and a half parts sugar to one of water is about the consistency of honey. Please remember that we are talking about feeding late, and feeding all in a lump, with poor chance for the bees to make any cliange in what is given them. The nearer, then, we can have our feed to the consistency of honey the better. Let me hasten to say, however, that what the Editor was talking about, page 12!l, was feeding in spring. I don't know that I would want to make any change in his feed at that time, unless it might be to make it a little wetter. What Mr. McKinnon is talk- ing about is "in the late fall when nights are cool." The important part is to know the result of feeding thick syrup late, and Mr. McKinnon wants to hear from those "who have had experience, and have taken the trouble to look through the hives two or three days after feed- ing." I've had the experience, all right, having fed tons of syrup years ago, before I knew any better. I can- not, however, comply with the specifi- cation of having looked through the hives two or three days after feedinu;, as I'm not sure I ever did that, and I'm afraid the number that have is so small that there may be no response, so I will give my testimony forwhat it is worth. I do not think I ever did any late feeding of syrup as thin as two to one; it was always two and one-half sugar to one of water. If feeding two to one would result in one-third to one-half of it granulating so the bees could not eat it, then putting in 25 percent more sugar should make the granulating at least 25 percent more, making 5-12 to H of it. Mr. McKinnon would say it candied and I didn't know it, because I didn't look in two or three days, "as the bees will start to cut the candied sugar out at once." In that case I surely should have seen at some time some of the granules carried out, seeing hundreds of pounds were carried out year after year. I do not recall that I ever ob- served a single instance, although such quantities at the entrance and scattered around the yard should have been plainly seen. "An examination the following spring will not reveal much candied syrup" — it will reveal some — "unless the colony has died outright." Which suggests that some colonies die out- right, leaving the candied stores. In so large an experience, I ought to have found at least a few such cases. Is it thinkable that I should not have no- ticed it, even if there had been only a single case; that in a careful scrutiny of each comb every spring, I should never have noticed even the small quantity left ; that I should never have noticed the imperfect combs where the bers had cut out the candied stores ? Is it not likely that his is the excep- tional case, rather than that every one else is wrong ? Reminds one of the old woman who said to her crony: " All the world's queer but you and me, Sally, and sometimes I think you're a little queer, Sally." I always used an even teaspoonful of tartaric acid to 20 pounds of sugar. (If feed is given thin and ear/y, acid is not needed.) Any candy maker will tell you that acid prevents granulation. Yet I know of at least one other case in which the syrup candied in spite of the acid. Inste d of asking why so many ex- tensive beekeepers endorse thick syrup for late feeding, is not the question rather: " Why the rare exceptions ?" C. C. Miller. [Mr. McKinnon will pardon us for inserting this article so late. It was sent in April, too late for the May number, and we have thought it would be more timely for fall, as September and Octoberare the months for winter- stores considerations. We have had the curiosity of investigating authors of former years on this subject, and we will give a review in the ( Jctober num- ber, on sugar for feeding. — Editor.] correct method of preparing such colo" nies for winter. If he will pardon th liberty, however, I will offer a few sug' gestions along this line, for correc' vvintering methods are the prime essen- tial in successful beekeeping in the North. A study of bee nature reveals the fact that they are creatures enslaved by habit and guided by instinct; hence, they will usually do the same way every time under like conditions. For example, the habit of expansion and contraction is so highly developed in bees that a colony occupying two hive- bodies in summer, will naturally con- tract to the capacity of a single hive- body in winter. Such a colony would be poorly protected in a two-story hive regardless of outside packing, un- less they can be induced to form the winter cluster in the top story. This practice, however, is evidently forbid- den by habit and instinct, both of which wisely compel them to form the winter nest at the bottom of the combs and near the entrance, and follow the base of supplies by a gradual movement up- ward. The wisdom of this habit is apparent, for if the cluster reaches the top of the hive in zero weather theii doom is sealed. Owing to this trait in bee nature we have found it safer to follow their ex- ample and contract the wintering hive to half the capacity of the summer hive, and provide a 3-inch space under the frames to accommodate the winter cluster. With combs solid full of honey and suitable outside protection, bees in this condition can utilize the heat that radiates from the cluster, and will invariably winter well in spite of the cold. Birmingham, Ohio. Expansion and Contraction Beekeepers I Have Known— "B. A. Aldrich" BY J. E. HANI). THE article by Dr. E. F. Phillips, in the July number of the American Bee Journal, contains an unusual amount of solid practical information concerning the prime essentials in economical honey production, infor- mation that beginners should preserve for future reference. There is one point, however, that I cannot help wishing he had brought out a little more specifically; this refers to meth- ods of wintering bees out of-doors in protected hives. In this connection he asks the question, " Have you ever seen a colony wintered in two hive- bodies well supplied with honey, and well packed, come out in the spring ?" While this question might be so construed as to express a doubt as to whether such colonies ever do come out in the spring, we feel disposed to modify and mollify the answer by say- ing that while we have known such colonies to winter well, experience has taught us that it was in spite of the poor protection provided by the two hive-bodies, rather than on account of it. This applies to the North, where the conservation of the heat that radi- ates from the winter cluster is impera- tive. It is to be regretted that Dr. Phillips did not enlighten us concerning the BY FRANK C. PELLETT. BERT ALDRICH, of Smithland, is one of the big bee men of Iowa. When it comes to total production it is doubtful if any man in the State exceeds his average crop. Here in in Iowa none of our bee men number their colonies by the thousand as in a few western localities. However, per- haps there is not in the United States a beekeeper with not to exceed 400 colonies who can beat Aldrich when it comes to counting the profits. He does practically all his own work, and has the finest equipment of any man in Iowa. As will be seen by the photograph, the honey-house is two stories high. The ground is on a level with the sec- ond floor on the north side, and the honey is all brought home lor extract- ing. It is unloaded on the upper floor, and an 8-frame power-driven extractor takes care of it very rapidly. Instead of a honey pump, he has a drain pipe running directly from the extractor to a tank on the lower floor. This tank holds about 3000 pounds, and is suffi- cient to contain one day's extracting. Some men with a system of out- yards such as Aldrich runs, carry a small extractor from yard to yard and 314 September, 1914. American Vee Joornal The Picture Would Not Be Complete Without Sage Directlly in Front of You do the work tliere. He says that he finds it much more economical to bring the honey home to extract, as he has to make the trips to the out-yard anyway. By using a power-driven ex- tractor and large tank he can do nearly all the necessary work alone, thus re- ducing expenses to the minium. The honey house is 30 feet square, with the lower story walls of concrete. The total cost of the building, exclusive of equipment, was about $1000. There is abundant room for every operation, including storage for his hundreds of extracting supers during winter. A workroom, partitioned off in one cor- ner, can be easily heated and necessary work carried on comfortably in winter. 1912 was a fairly favorable season, and the Aldrich apiaries turned out about 27,000 pounds of honey from the 300 colonies in four yards. In 1913 some increase was made in the number of colonies, and the production jumped to over 40,000 pounds. From the 1913 crop the modern home shown in the picture was built, and it did not take it all either. The location is apparently above the average, being in the edge of the Mis- souri river hills. Some of the out- yards are in the hills and some in the bottoms, so that rarely a season fails to give a profitable crop in some of the yards. In case of a failure in one or the other it is not far to move the bees to pasturage. There is a considerable acreage of basswood surrounding the home yard from which a heavy yield is occasionally secured. Much of this timber is being cut, so that this will probably not be depended upon very much longer. Sweet clover in large acreage is within reach of one or two yards, and heartsease the main de- pendence on the bottoms. There is considerable similar terri- tory entirely unoccupied about 20 to 50 miles to the south of this location, and a few good locations near large towns which would furnish home markets for an ordinary crop. Mr. Aldrich does not aspire to greatly increase his present apiaries. He has about reached the limit of one man beekeeping, and his income is sufficient for his needs. With a mod- ern home, the best up-to-date equip- ment, 20 ton honey crops, and a most interesting family, he has every rea- son to be content. Atlantic, Iowa. Bees and the Colors of Clothing BY JOHN H. LOWELL. SOME time ago the writer published a description of a series of experi- ments, which showed beyond ques- tion that a beekeeper dressed in black would receive more stings than one wearing white clothing. While dressed wholly in white, with the exception of a black band of cloth 10 inches wide sevved around my right arm. I opened a hive of bees and gently shook several frames. Immediately many bees at- tacked the black band, and continued to do so as long as I disturbed them, while not a single bee attempted to sting the left sleeve which was entirely white. This experiment was repeated many times, and the position of the black band was changed, but the results were always the same— the black band was invariably fiercely assailed, while the white portions of my dress received very little attention. I estimated the number of bees on the black band at various moments at from .30 to 40, and it would be difiicult to imagine how they could make greater efforts to sting than they did. At this point a very natural question was: How would other colors affect the bees? Ticknor Edwards tells us ("The Lore of the Honey Bee," page 40) that during the Middle Ages bee- keepers were warned not to wear red in the bee-yard, as this color was espe- cially offensive to the bees. Accord- ingly red was first selected for experi- ment. A red band was substituted for the black one, but my clothing was otherwise entirely white. When I re- moved the cover of a hive and angered the colony, the red band was attacked almost as fiercely as had previously been the case with the black cloth. The white sleeve, meanwhile, received very little attention. The bee-masters of the Middle Ages were thus entirely right in advising against the wearing of red garments. During the past year Dr. Frisch, of Munich, has asserted that bees cannot distinguish red from black. When a blue band was used instead of a black one, it caused a little more irritation than white, but very much less than black. Yellow and green bands were later successively substi- tuted for black, but the bees paid abso- lutely no more attention to these colors than they did to white. The experiments show that a bee- keeper may wear in the apiary white, yellow and green clothing; but should carefully avoid a black or red apparel. Blue is less desirable than white, al- though much better than black. Waldboro, Maine. Some Cute Ideas BY DR F. A. BONNEY. I DO NOT doubt but that many oldish men, those who have to wear glasses as I do, are bothered with the sweat running down and mussing up the lenses. This bothered me so in look- ing for queens or eggs that I discarded my glasses entirely and now use a 3- inch reading glass which I carry in my pocket. To insur'e that no moths get into my wax, I use a cream can with a tight cover and pour in a teaspoonful of formalde- hyde from time to time. No self re- specting miller will tarry where the odor of that chemical exists, so my wax is safe from week to week. When I want to strengthen a colony of bees I put on a bee-escape, then on that put supers from neighboring hives which are filled with bees fanning honey. These go down, unite with the colony, and then I return the super to where it came from, or any other hive. There is no danger in this way of get- ting your queen lost, and more bees will remain than if the bees were shaken in front of the hive. Sprinkle a little peppermint water around to stop possible fighting. My supers are all over queen excluders. To get rid of mice in the bee-yard, I soak wheat in a quart of water in which I have dissolved one dram (HO) grains of strychnia sulphate. If you have ever tried to poison the neighbors' chickens you will know that a dose of poison that will kill a man is only a nice tonic for an old scratching hen, but if you have exaggerated ideas about toxic drugs lay down a couple of sticks, scat- ter the grain between them and cover with a board. The mice will certainly find it, and they will not go into the i September, 1914. American l^aa Journal hive. I found four dead mice in hives this spring, and in no hive evidence of mouse occupation. I am now sending out copy to papers and the rural magazines extolling honey as a cure for rheumatism. Since I caught my wife, I thought to quit lying, but cannot resist the te.nptation to copy the Karo Kusses and patent medicine fakirs' methods of making business. " Have you tried the /lunev ciiri- for rheumatism ?" is one line I am circulating. I advise one or two tablespoonfuls five times a day, and drink no water for at least one hour after taking a dose. Five tablespoon- fuls per family in the United States per day would amount to .J0,000,000 ounces, 3,12.5,000 pounds, or 200,000 gallons, worth that many dollars. In a year that would amount to about . Fig- ure it out yourself, and see if it is worth lying about. Xearly four times the amount of honey now sold in the United Staies annually. To save walking I use a small tele- scope to look over my decoy hives. Working with the bees recently, when they were particularly irritable, I thought to try peppermint water on my person and the hives, and to my delight the angry buzzing ceased, and the bees quit stinging. I have not had oppor- tunity to experiment further, but shall do so as soon as I find time. I think the water should be quite strong, say ten drops of the oil to half a pint of water. Buck Grove, Iowa. Honey and Biology BV J. A. HEBERLE, B. S. [Bast'if on a Ufture of Dr. Thoeni, fiuhlis/iiui in the Sstlno. Bicttt'iizfifur^.) HONEY was highly esteemed in olden times, as w^ll as now, but the rea- sons for this esteem have under- gone some change. The ancients be- lieved that the honey "fell as gentle dew from heaven," and was gathered by the bees. According to the writ- ings of Dioscorides and Plinius, this was believed by the Greeks and the Romans, and seems to have been gen- erally actepted until about the middle of the Kith Century. At that time two Franciscan monks showed that the sweet juice — the nectar — was but a secretion from the plants. At the end of the 18th Century honey was studied by chemists, who showed that it mainly consisted of three kinds of sugars, principally invert sugar, some cane sugar, a little dextrin, water, formic, acetic, lactic, and .suc- cinic acids, also small amounts of albu- men, mineral and coloring matters. With this was shown that honey is a very nutritious and very wholesome food, and quite important for the hu- man body. The study of the preparation of honey by the bee led to the discovery that the honey contained other substances be- sides those that were shown by chemi- cal analysis. Erienmeyer and Planta succeeded in showing that in the prep- aration of honey, cane sugar was con- verted into invert sugar, and starch into dextrin and sugar. These pecu- liar substances which caused these changes during the preparation of honey are called enzymes or ferments. Later, Auzinger showed th.it besides the ferments which made the invert sugar called " invertase," and those which change starch into dextrin and sugar called " diastase," there is still another ferment in the honey called " catalase." This ferment has the powerof converting hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Marpmann claiii s to have found still other enzy- motic bodies, but this has not yet been corroborated. The nature of these ferments is not quite understood ; they seem to be boun I to the albumen molecules. Only the effect they produce is known; but not how they come into existence; how they are produced. It is only known that they are derived from living cells. The ferments are, for the live process of all plants and animals, of the utmost importance. For in- stance, in the digestion and nourish- ing of the body they are indispensable, since without them assimilation is not possible. The ferments are quite sus- ceptible to heat temperatures. A lit- tle less than 100 degrees C. injures them, and if the heat continues for a longer period they are destroyed. Since the ferments are derived from living cells, their functions are called biological. The high esteem of genuine honey as food, dainty, and for its curative property for mankind is well justified from its chemical composition as well as from its biological qualities. This high esteem of honey, the great de- mand for it, and its price compared with other sweets have been the cause of artificial preparations, substitutes to defraud the consumer. Until recently the examination of honey included the appearance, taste, color, aroma, a microscopical examination, a quantita- tive chemical analysis for its principal constituents, dextrose, levulose, suc- rose, dextrin, also tests for other sub- stances that were commonly used in adulterating honey, etc. Since the composition of honey va- ries considerably in different localities, sometimes even at very short distances, this is especially the case in Switzer- land and parts of Germany, the difTer- ence as to the time of extracting, etc, it is very difTicult by chemical analysis to state positively that the sample un- der examination is adulterated, because the natural product shows such great variation in its physical and chemical composition. This task is made the more difficult because the adulterators, tn ^rox. have very able chemists to make these arti- ficial products. It is easy for them to mix the principal constituents that can be determined by chemical analysis in the same proportion as they are found in honey. It is easy for them to make the color and the consistency as wanted. To delude as to aroma, some natural honey is mixed with the arti- ficial product, so that it is the most difficult of all food analyses. [A honey examination in Switzerland and Ger- many seems even more difficult than in the United States.] The chemical and physical methods often fail to positively prove adultera- tion. The biological qualities of the honey are a very important criterion, since up to the present it has not been possible to produce these ferments in a pure state, besides they would be so costly that they could not be used for the preparation of artificial honey. The diastase reaction has proved useful in the examination of honey as to its purity. Markt Oberdorf, Bavaria, Germany. ( To be continued.) Home of B. \. Ai.drich— "The Hol'se the Bees Built.' September, 1914. American Hee Journal j Dr. Millers ^ Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to Dk. C. C. Miller, Marengo, III. He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail Bitter Honey I have about 200 colonies, and on the hives is considerable honey moslly in half-depth frames— not wired. I find that a great por- tion of it is very bitter I am at a loss to know what they worked on to produce such a taste in the honey Last fall they were storing from asters and the bloom froze, yet they stored for several days from the frozen bloom. That honey was not all thoroughly ripened, yet the bees wintered finely. This spring they worked on dandelion, fruit bloom, maples, poplar, basswood, sweet clover, little boneset. and a meadow weed. with a flat white top; people call it "yar- row." Also some reported them working at joints near the roots of red clover. There was some honeydew. yet I did not see any bees working on it. 1 sell most of my honey cut from half- depth frames, and put it in buckets at 15 cents a pound, which is as much as I can get in sections I had thought of taking off all their sur- plus, then extracting the combs, and have them to put back to catch the fall flow, then feed where needed of this bitter honey. Can I clean the combs of this bitter honey so the fall honey will not have this bitter taste? Ohio. Answer.— We do not know from what source the bees harvested that bitter honey unless it is from the dandelion We have never seen enough gathered from this source to make a surplus, but it is quite pos- sible that you had enough for that. As to the " 3 arrow " {Ai:liilh\i milUfoliunr), we have never seen any bees upon it. It is classed among the weeds of Iowa by Prof. L H, Pammel. Its scientific name, Millcfi>lium. meaning "a thousand leaves," conies from the fineness and great number of its leaves. Perhaps some of our subscribers can tell us whether the bees work upon it. and of what flavor is the honey. There is no doubt that you can extract that bitter honey so as to keep it separate from the next crop. It will surely make good bee-feed — C. P. D. in the yard where all the bees can help themselves. Is this method of feeding all right or should the feed be placed in the bive? Oklahoma. Answer -Feeding out in the open is a little more like having the bees gather from the fields; only if other bees are near you they will also partake of the plunder. The stronger colonies are likely to get the lion's share, but you can make that all right by taking filled frames from the strong and giving to the weak. Feeding We are now in the midst of a protracted drouth, hardly a flower to be seen. I have filled my bee-feeders with syrup made from cane granulated sugar and placed the feed Queer Actions of Bees What ails my bees? Quite a number of them emerge from the hive, try to fly but cannot, only hop along. They are all perfect bees, as far as I can see. They act as if they were loaded with honey; but I killed a couple and found the honey sac emptv. rhey are not young bees, neither are they very old. Minnesota. Answer.— It is probably a case of bee paralysis. As far north as you are it is not likely to be a very serious matter, and the trouble will disappear in a few days. If it should seem to increase, send samples of ^he diseased bees to Dr. E. F, Phillips, Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and he will give you all the information needed without charge. Requeening for European Foulbrood I. Will it pay to requeen with untested Italian queens for European foulbrood. leav- the bees on their old combs ? If not, how is the best way to subdue said foulbrood at this time of the year ? 2 How long must old frames of brood comb be kept to be safe to use ? New York. Answers.— I Let me answer the last part of the question first. For a mild case of European foulbrood, supposing a vigorous queen of the best sort is present, the best tr.eatment I know of is to keep the queen caged in the hive for 8 or 10 days. That's all — the bees will do the rest. If the case is a bad one, it's a pretty safe guess that the queen is no longer good. So she should be killed. At the same time that she is killed a virgin queen of best slock, not more than 24 hours old, should be dropped in the hive or placed on a comb. Instead of that a sealed cell nearly ready to hatch may be given in a cell-protector, or a day or two later without the protector. Whether the case be mild or severe, it will probably pay to replace the queen with one of best Italian blood, if the queen is not already one of that kind. Italians are in general more vigorous than blacks or hy- brids, and there may be also something in the claim that Italians, in dependent of their vigor, are more nearly immune to European foulbrood than others. 2. I doubt that age alone will make a dis- eased comb oitirelv safe. But after it has been kept until the dead brood is entirely dried up. then there is probably not one chance in fifty that there is any danger. And a comb that has been kept 8 or 10 days without any eggs being laid in it is probably as safe as one kept a year. But remember that we are talking about European foulbrood. I wouldn't want to use a comb affected with American foul- brood if it had been kept 10 years. Uniting — Wintering— Foulbrood 1. Is it advisable to unite a strong colony with a weak one in July or August or wait until spring ? 2. Will a colony that hasn't swarmed win- ter on the lower story of an 8frame hive ? 3. Is it a sign of foulbrood if the lower story has three dead bees in capped cells. They were full grown, and were the only dead cells found, and when opened had a strong bad odor ? Washington. Answers.— I. If the one colony is quite weak, or if you are not anxious to save the queen, then you had better unite now. since there is much danger that a weak colony will not winter through. 2. Yes, a number of my colonies that have not swarmed will have to do it. 3. A little uncertain. If those three are the only ones, and no more follow, then you may decide it is not foulbrood. Finishing a Super Above Brood-Nest- Honey -Darit 1. When a super of unfinished sections of honey is placed under the brood-nest will the bees take the honey and put it in the super above the brood-nest to fill up the un- finished sections. 2. Was the honey in the northern part of the State as dark as ours is down here? Ours is all honey-dew and black. Illinois. Answers.— I. In the few cases in which I have tried it, they would not carry it up. 2 In this locality the honey has been very white. I think bees are not so likely to work on honey-dew if they have plenty of flowers from which to obtain a better arti- cle. I suspect that in your location there was a dearth of flowers. Carniolans- -Italians Ventilation Transferring, Etc. Wintering- M. E. LaCoss at Work in Tonawanda, N. Y. I. By the use of queens I intend to work my apiary into one race of bees, and am at a loss to know the best one for my condi- tions. It is claimed that the Carniolans will fly earlier, later, and on darker days than the other races of btes; take to the supers more readily than the Italians, pro- duce the whilesl wax. and use less propolis than other bees. Some claim that they work buckwheat and like it befer than others. Above all they winter the best of all races when kept in a cold climate. My bees will ;ill have 10 be wintered outside, and the temperature will several times each winter go 20 degrees below zero The worst thing 1 have been able to learn against them is their propensity to swarm What is the truth about the above claims? Would the so-called "jumbo " hive carrying 10 frames American ^ae Journal of standard lenetli and a bit over ii inches deep, help an' about tlie swarming if the hive was equipped with a ventilated cover ? 2 Whiclityneof Italians is best for New Hampshire, the golden or the leather col- ored ? vVili either or both work the red clover ? Which will winter the best ? 3. I judk'e ventilation is an important thing in controlling swarming. How is it best done, throutjh the bottom board, or by using a hive cover like the Root ventilated gable cover, and regulating the size of entrance? Are there better ways f 4. Would you judge a single-walled dove- taileci hive like the jumbo mentioned above to be a good one for me to start with. I do not like to pay the price of the double- walled ones. What about wintering out of- doors in this hive ? Can I do better than to get telescoping cases to put over the hives in winter? ShouUI they go on with or with- out the hive cover being on, and should any thing be used between the hive and the case ? Have several old out-buildings on the place, some with an apology for win- dows and some without. Would these be better for the bees than to be left outside? They would break the cold winds and make temperature changes more gradual. If bet- ter to put in here would you advise the cases ? How should the entrance be left for this kind of wintering ? 5. What is the proper fuel for the smoker ? t). What is the best way to transfer bees from an old-fashioned hive to a modern frame hive ? Is there any satisfactory way to do it without patching up the old combs into the new frames ? 7. How could I best add a weak colony in an old-fashioned hive to a small colony in a modern frame hive ? In transferring where the old combs are patched into the new frames, and do not fill nearly all the new frames, should the remaining ones be filled with foundation ^ Should a division-board ■ be used and moved as the foundation is ac- cepted ? S. I have heard that the best way to put foundation into the sections was to put a narrow piece at the bottom and a piece at the top wide enough to almost reach the bottom one. Is that right? How can I make the top piece hang straight down, or will gravitation hold it there if once bent down ? New Hampshire. Answers. — I. It is a very difficult thing to get at the real truth about the different kinds of bees. One man says he has found Carniolans superior to Italians; another says they are inferior, and both may be hon- est in their opinions. The first has had un- usually good Carniolans and unusually poor Italians, while the second has had just the reverse. For Carniolans are' by no means all alike, neither are Italians. Take the two races as a whole, and I doubt whether allorany of the claims to superiorty that you have mentioned will hold good. The fact that the great majority of practical bee- keepers keep Italians speaks with some em- phasis. The large hive you mention would have some effect in keeping down swarm ing with any race of bees. But you cannot rely too much upon it. One year a colony in ajumbo hive was the very first to swarm for me. 2. A good golden is better than a leather- colored, and -■icevctsn. On the whole I should prefer to take the chances on the leather-colored. Probably no difference in wintering. 3. Give ventilation at both top and bottom. and also in bet-oceii. This last you can hardly accomplish if you are running for comb honey, except that you can slide the bottom super forward so as to leave a ventilatine space of about !4-inch at the back end. If you extract you can "stutter" the stories; The first story over the brood-chamber shoved forward so as to leave ventilation at back end. the next story shoved back, the next forward, and so on. 4. Like enough the hive mentioned would suit you all right. It does not matter so much what the outside protection, and it is better to use packing. The hive cover may be on or off according to convenience. But I wouldn't advise you to winter in a building above ground. To be sure, some make a success at it. but most do not. s. It's largely a matter of convenience, .^ny old thing that will burn is likely to an- swer all right, provided it is easily obtain- able. Probably nothing is better than dry hardwood chips. A fa\orite with some is the greasy cotton waste that is thrown away after being used in machine shops or on locomotives. Then there is bark, planer chips, cowdung. cotton rags. etc. 6. Wait until the colony swarms, and hive the swarm in an approved hive. Twenty- one days later drum the bees out of the old hive and add them to the swarm ; then chop up the old hive and melt up the combs. Or. split up the hive and brush the bees off the pieces of comb as you cut them out. 7. Drum out the weak colony and add it to the other. The bees will unite more kindly if one hive be set over the other for three or more days, with wire-cloth between them. Yes. fill out the space with frames filled with foundation, and no division-board or dummy will be needed. 8. Use a bottom-starter -^s-inch deep, and a top starer to reach within 5-s inch of it. Gravitation will make it hang straight. Excessive Swarming^What to Do Last spring I bought a colony of bees and was very anxious to have them swarm. The first swarm issued July I3 July 20. the mother colony swarmed again. This swarm covered six frames On July 24. the third swarm issued from the parent colony. A week later I opened the pareiit colony and found that the bees had done nothing in the super. The body of the hive was full of honey, and I found three queen cells. Two of these I destroyed. The cap of the third seemed loose, and soon the queen crawled out. at least I thought she was the queen, though she looked like any other bee. Do you suppose I have left the colony queenless ? Swarm No i has made lots of honey, while the other two swarms and the parent colony have made nothing. Had I better unite these and how. or would it be better to give them frames of honey from the other hive ? Should [ get new queens for the two later swarms and for the original colony ? Should I go over the combs every 10 days and cu out queen-cells? North Dakoi'a, Answer— There is nothing unusual in the program your bees have followed. The mother colony having sent out three swarms has not bees enough left to do anything in the super, and all the bees are crowded into the brood-chamber. Neither are the second and third swarmsstrongenough to do much, the first swarm being the only one strong enough to do super work. When a colony prepares for swarming, it starts iiuite a number of queen cells, and you found what were left after the last swarm issued. It is not likely that your cutting out those last cells made any differ- ence about swarming, for it is a rare thing for the fourth swarm to issue. You may or may not have made the colony queenless by cutting out the cells. If the bee that came out of the cell was a queen, then the colony is queenless. since you cut out the other cells. But you say the bee that came out of the cell looked just like any other bee. It is quite possible that it was a worker. Some- times a worker crawls into a queen-cell after the queen has left it. although the cap- ping of the cell looks as if the queen has not yet emerged. If that was the case, then the queen was left in the hive and the colony is all right You cannot be certain about the queen by the carrying of pollen. If you do not find eggs in the hive about todays after the last swarm issued, or at least in two weeks, you may decide the colony is queen- less. in which case you will give it a queen, unless you prefer to unite with it the weakest afterswarm. The chances are that both afterswarms have queens all right. The likelihood is that they will build up without any help from the first swarm, which can be left undisturbed at its work of gathering honey. Of course, if the bees do not gather enough for winter you will have to feed. It is not likely you will have any difficulty in telling a queen when you see one. by its greater size, especially greater length. No need to go over your hives for queen- cells now. after swarming is over. Hardly Make Living Honey crop will be short this year; in fact, there will be none here. Bees will hardly make a living. Frank Shupe. Mazon, 111.. Aug. i. Condition of Bees in Eastern Illinois It has been very dry. The corn will not yield 25 percent of a crop. In some places it is fired to the top. We had no rain from the middle of May tilT Aug. 10. when we had a good shower, but it is too late for the bees. A neighbor who had 8 colonies in the spring has only one left. They left their hives. The beekeepers who do not feed their bees will go out of commission. I started inspection wor > at Donovan, found one foulbrood colony. I found three in Walseka. eight in Crescent City, none in Oilman. In this place many hives had sur- plus honey. One man had several cases ready to take off. The reason of this is that near Oilman there is a fieldof about 75 acres of sweet clover. In Lodi. bees were holding their own. no disease. In Paxton. I found two cases. At Hoopeston. I found one case, west of town. Mr G. T. Willis, on the east, has an apiary of 30 colonies, all golden, which is a credit to Hoopeston. In fact, it is the neatest and best kept yard I have seen. In Martinton. in one yard of 20 colonies. I found IQ diseased; in another yard of 5 col- onies. 3 were diseased That was the worst I ever saw. They spend all their time read- ing the war news and neglect their bees. J. H. RonERTS. Dc/'ulv Inspector. Watseca. Ill . Aug. 15, Half a Crop for Nevada Up to the present, only the strongest colo- nies have gathered any surplus. The sea- son is poor. Alfalfa, which is the principal source, has been badly killed down by severe frosts and scorching heat. I think we will do exceedingly well if we get half a crop, I. E- Patton. Halleck. Nev , July 2i Bumper Crop lor Kentucky The honey crop has been a bumper one here this season. Bees came through win- ter in fine condition. We use no Hour here. In early spring the soft maples bioom. with just a few days of sunshine, then pear peach, willow, apple, persimmon, locust. 31S September. 1914. American IBee Journal white clover and chestnut all bloom in rota- tion. Basswood. sumac, sourwood. white alder, and various other flowers furnish nectar until cold weather. Bees eg into winter with a full supply of stores. 1 winter out-of-doors, and rarely lose a col- ony. My best colony stored 200 pounds of comb honey this year, which sold at $20 per hundred; the rest averaged about 100 pounds. I expect about "^o pounds per col- ony from the fall flow, which is general ly heavy. The fields before frost are a solid bank of flowers. Some colonies store more thin 150 pounds from this source. Gimlet, Ky . luly 21. Cecil Wmxr. Crop Report -Pleasant Slimmer in Cali- fornia Honey is still coming in on many southern California ranges, and will probably reach 60 percent of a crop over the unirrigated sections. The summer has been one of the most pleasant I have experienced in my 18 years of California beekeeping. Honey is of good body, nice flavor, but not as white as that produced some years ago. Corona. Calif. L.L.Andrews Discouraging I have 55 colonies of bees. They have done but little good this year. We had no white clover, and it is dry. I think they will not gather any honey this fall. I haven't taken any off yet. My bees wintered good, and were in good shape this spring- Swarming has not bothered much. I am discouraged, but will not give it up; will try again. llasco. Mo.. Aug. 14. S. P. Yoi'NG. Too Dry in Illinois My bees were strong in the spring, and started to swarm early, as I had the first swaimMayii. I have nothing but Italians, and there are no bees around this part of the country for miles. I run my bees for comb honey, as I sell all my honey at home. The weather in Illinois has been too dry; but the second crop of red clover is now blooming, and the bees are working on that. L. A. TORNi.iUIST. New Windsor, III., July 27. 125 Pounds Average We had a short honey flow from clover and basswood. but our bees were in excel- lent condition, and our 16 frame colonies averaged 125 pounds per colony of the finest quality of extracted honey, with plenty yet in the hives for winter. We seldom get any honey after basswood. The rainfall has been light, and a severe drouth is damaging young clover: alsike is our main depend- ence. J. E. Hand. Birmingham. Ohio. Aug. 12. A Thousand Pounds from 70 Colonies My bees have given me very little surplus this year. It has been very dry here and very little clover. The bees are very strong, and I think they will get plenty of winter stores. I had very few swarms, though the hives were full of bees. Krom '>'j colonies, spring count, 1 will have about loao pounds of honey, most of it dark, and have increased to Qo. Hoping for a better crop next year. I will try and be content. Howard T. Knoi.l, Clarksbrg. Ont., Aug. n. Fire Blight Alarming Orchardists in Yakima Co., Wash. In Yakima Co.. Wash., there are 55,000 acres set to orchard I'ire blight made its appearance about three years ago. Orchard- ists were warned of itsexistenre. and urged to use every effort to stamp It out, and a fairly vigorous effort by resideni owners has been made to eradicate it, but at this time it is recurring to a more alarming extent than at any previous time. Orchardists are thoroughly alarmed. In the list of agencies that transmit the bacteria of blight they have placed the honey-bee 'and naturally the apple raiser is gelling hostile They are holding meetings and organizing so-called protective leagues, or rather clubs. At the request of the (5randview orchard ists. Gov. Lister attended a meeting, and it was reported in a local paper he stated that he believed they would be justified without warrant of law in going to the orchards of owners who refused to combat the disease, and cut them down and burn them. I am informed that at one of these meet- ings one of the speakers made the statement that he knew of a way to get rid of the bees, and that it was to spray with an arsenical solution when the trees were in full bloom Iliat an apiary of 40 colonies had been taken care of in that way near Sunnyside. Bees in the neiborhood of Sunnyside were badly injured by spray this season, but so far as 1 know no colonies were destroyed. We are too inclined to be satisfied if it is the other fellow's ox that is being gored. During the season of 1011, a pear tree in a small orchard owned by the wrKer began to blight. Taking the view commonly accepted that it was due to a transmissible organism, I watched the tree closely, cutting off the diseased limbs from time to time and burn- ing them. An apiary of about Bo colonies of bees stood 8 or to rods distant, and at no time did I see a single bee visit the diseased tree, and while this does not prove that bees do not carry the infective agent of blight, yet it is just as conclusive as the prevalent belief that they do. What we need in all cases preceding actual proof is men with open minds, minds that refuse to accept suggestions or be swayed by beliefs. A. E. BuRDiCK. Sunnyside. Wash.. June 8. The Boyum Escape Improvement I notice in the August American Bee Jour- nal a bee-escape board improved by Geo. A. Boyum. A similar device was illustrated in some of the journals 12 or 15 years ago. I don't remember theoriginator. but I remem- ber the pleasure I felt in making an im- provement by running a strip from each cor- ner of the board across to the hole in the escape; atrial quickly convinced me that supers were cleared no sooner than before, and others reported the same result. As an amateur, I suggest that when the first frightened bee finds the way to safety through the escape, her fanning wings in- stantly send the news throughout the supers and a line of march starts immediately for the opening, and with or without the device the supers will be cleared as fast as the capacity of the escape will permit, or as the bees desire to leave. E. M. Cole. Audubon, Iowa, .\ug. 17. Classified Department (Advertisements in this department will be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- counts of any kind . Notices here cannot be less than two lines. If wanted in this de- partment, you must say so when ordering. BEES AND QUEENS. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens will please you. For Sale— Untested Golden Italian queens 60c each; 4 hybrids. $1,00. J. F'. Michael, Winchester, Ind. Bees and Queens from my New Jersey apiary. J. H. M. Cook, lAtf 70 Cortland St., New York City. For Sale— Choice Golden Queens that produce Golden bees equal to any. Wm. S. Barnett. Barnett's, Virginia. LEA-niER-CoLOKEi) Italian Queens for sale. Send for price-list. Geo. B. Howe. Black River, N. Y Pure Tunisian Queens, tested, $1.00; 2-lb. bees with tested queen, $4 00 Safe arrival guaranteed. Lenoel. Nabeul, Tunis. Reduced Prices for August and Septem- ber. Untested queens of my 3-banded Ital ian stock One for 70 cts.; 6 for $,) 00; 12 or more at 60 cts. apiece. No disease and no better queens at any price. Full colonies and several apiaries for sale. H. D. Murry, M»tliis, Tex. Three-banded Italian Queens, bred fo business. Satisfaction guaranteed. Untest ed. 75 cts.; six, $4 2.5 Chas W. /welly, Lemont, 111. Queens of Qualitv— Three-band leather color. Unt . 50 cts. each: sel. unt , 60 cis. each. A few sel. tested at $100 .Satisfac tion guaranteed. J. I Banks, Liberty. Tenn During Sept. I will sell untested queens of Robey stock mated to Howe's strain of drones at 50 cts each; pure mating guaran- teed D. G. Little. Harlley, Iowa. Caucasian and Carniulan queens from the original imporier. See larger adv't. Frank Benton. P. O. Box 17. Washington. D.C. Untested Queens. 75c each; $7.50 per doz. Nuclei $1 25 per frame. Bees. $1.50 per pound. Full colonies, 8-frame, $6.50; 10-frame, $7.50. Stover Apiaries, Mayhew. Miss. For Sale— Fine Italian Queens. See my large ad. in this issue. J F. Archdekin, Rt. 7. St. Joseph. Mo, Italian Queens for sale. Untested. 90 cts; six for $1.75. All queens are reared from my imported mother. Jul. Buegeler, Rt, I, New Ulm, Tex. 1014 Queens— Moore's strain of leather- colored Italians. In April at 75c. Bees by the pound and Tested queens. Write us for prices on nuclei. Address. Ogden Bee & Honey Co.. Ogden, Utah, Queens, improved Red Clover Italians, bred for business. June i to Nov. 15. Un- tested Queens, 7Sceach; dozen, $8,00; Select. {1.00 each: dozen, $10, rested Queens, $1.25: dozen. $12. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. H. C, demons, Boyd, Ky. Queens— 10 percent discount for orders received before May I. to be filled in May and June. Tested. $i.oo; untested 75c. Dead ones replaced free. 2Aot S. Click. Rt. 2. Box 16. Mt. Jackson. 'Va. We Will be in the field with good Italian Queens in June for $1.00 each; 6 for $5 00. Two-frame nuclei in June without aueen. $2.50: with queen. $100 extra. D.J Blocher. Pearl City. 111. Northern-reared Queens of Moore's strain of leather-colored three-banded Ital- ians. After lune is. untested, $1.00; 6 for I5.00: 12 for tooo. Ramer & Gluen, Harmony. Minn. Phklps' Golden Italian Bees are hustlers. Italian Queens, s-banded. forsale. Ready April 15. Untested queens, 75c each, or $7.25 per dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. W. W. Talley. Queen Breeder, 3Atf Rt. 4, Greenville. Ala, For Sale— MI) hatch sel, tested. Aug. $1 00 each: Sept.. 75c each as long as they last: wish to replace with 1014 for IQ15 sales. Will sell a good breeder for (i 50. E. E. Mott. Glenwood. Mich. High Grade Queens by return mail. Tested, $1.25: warranted, 75c each; choice breeding queens, $2 50 each, Italian Carnio- lan or Caucasian. Virgins of any of the above strain. ) for Si 00, Stanley & F'inch. 1451 Ogden Ave.. Chicago. III. Pure Golden Queens, the best that twelve years can produce. Untested, $1.50 each. Select tested, $1,00 each. Breeders. $5.00 to $50, Send for booklet on "Bees and Dis- eases." Geo. M. Steele. 30 South 40th St.. Philadelphia. Penna. Queens by return mail or your money back Guaranteed purely mated. J. E. Hand strain of 3 banded Italians Bred for genlleness. honey gathering and wintering. State in^pector's certificate. Select un- tested, one. 75c: SIX. $4. 00; 12. $7.00. Tested, one. Si 00; six, S5.00: 12, So. 00; Select tested, one. $1 25; six, S7.00; 12, Sl3 Breeders. S4.00 each. Write for price on large orders. Safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed in U. S. and Canada. Ten percent discount on 30 days' advance orders. Reference, F'irst Na tional Bank. J. M. Gingerich, Arthur, 111 • September. 1914. American Hee 'Jonrnal] 310 Golden Queens that produce Golden Workers of the brightest kind. I will chai- lenee the world on my Goldens and their honey getting qualities. Price. $i.oo each; Tested, Jj.oo: Breeders. Js-oo and $10.00. 2Atf J. B. Brockwell. Barnetts. Va. The Bankston Bees and Queens are as ^ood as the best. Golden, Three band and Carniolan. Tested, ti.oo each; untested. 75c. Queens ready to ship April 15. Bees, per pound, $1 so. Nuclei, per frame, Ji.so. Write us for prices on large lots of queens. Try us and be pleased. Bankston & Lyon, Box 141, Buffalo. Tex. Golden and 3 banded Italian and Carnio- lan queens, ready to ship after April ist. Tested. $:. 00; 3 to 6. qsc each;6 to i.: or more, 00c each. Untested. 75c each; 3 lo (■. 70c each; 6 or more. 65c. Bees, per lb.. $150; Nuclei, per frame. $1.50. C. B. Bankston. Buffalo. Leon Co., Tex. For Sale.— Three-banded Italian Queens, bred from the best honey-gathering strains, that are also hardy and gentle. Untested queens, ;5c; six. $4.25; 12. I8.00. Tested. Ji. 25; 6, $7. CO; 12. $12. For select queens, add 25c each to above prices Breedingqueens. $3.00 to Ss.ooeach. For queens in larger quantities write for prices. Robt. B. Spicer, Wharton. N.J. Phelps' Golden Italian Queens combine the qualities you want. They are great honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. Mated, $1.00; six, $5.00; Tested, $300: Breed- ers, Js, 00 and Jio C. W. Phelps & Son. 3 Wilcox St., Binghamton, N. Y. QuiRiN's Famous improved Italian queens are northern bred and extremely hardy; over 20 years a breeder. Colonies. Nuclei and bees by the pound. Ask for Circular, it will interest you. H. G. Quirin, The Queen Breeder, Bellevue, Ohio, Fob Sale— We offer our best Italian bees in lo-frame hives, from one to carload f o. b here, or in yards of 100 or more complete with fixtures and location. Cash on reason- able time. I( preferred, will rent on shares several years with privilege to buy. Partic- ulars on request. Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff. Calif. HONEY AND BEESWAX "Null's Famous Melilotus Honey.' Sample for stamp. Null Co., Demopolis, Ala Wanted— Comb, extracted honey, and beeswax, R. A. Burnett & Co.. 6Ai2t 173 S. Water St.. Chicago. III. For Sale— Orange honey in bo-lb. cans. 2 in a case, at qc per pound. Sample free. James NIcKee. Riverside, Calif For Sale— Horsemint honey, also dark from Huckleberry. Put up in new bo-pound cans. Write for prices. A. L. Krueger, New Ulm, Tex, For Sale— Light extracted honey; two 60- pound cans to case, new cans. 8/4 cts. ; in jo case lots at 8 cts. per pound, f. o. b. here. H. G. Quirin. Bellevue. Ohio. Light .^mber honey 8c per lb. White. loc. two 60-lb. cans to a case. Sample, loc I. J. Stringham, 105 Park Place, New York, For Sale— Raspberry, Basswood No. i white comb, $3.00 per case; fancy, $325; 24 Danz. sec. to case, g cases to carrier. Ex- tracted, i2o-lb. cases at u cts Wiley A. Latshaw. Clarion, Mich, Raspberry Honey— Left on the hives until it was all sealed and thoroughly ripened. It is thic<. rich, and delicious Put up for sale in new 00-lb. tin cans. Price, $(1.00 per can. Sample by mail, 10 cts.. which may be deducted from order for honey. Elmer Hutchinson. R. D. 2, Lake City, Mich, The Beekeepers' Review is now owned and published by the honey producers themselves It is lAe paper ,;// honey pro- ducers should support tight months' trial subscription, beginning with the May num- ber, for only soc. Sample copy free. Ad- dress, The Beekeepers' Review. Xorthslar. Mich, SUPPLIES. Bee-Keeper, let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg. Co., 4Atf Greenville, Tex. Better Hives for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog. A. E. Burdick, Sunnyside, Wash, The a. I. Root Company's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation. Poultry, Sup- plies, Seeds. Write for catalog. The Chas. E. Hopper Co.. 185 Wright Ave., Toronto, Ont. MISCELLANEOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos). Write Dr. Bonney, Buck Grove, Iowa, for samples. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony; my neighbors got none. I'll tell you how for 2Sc. O. N. Baldwin, Baxter, Kan, I Will show any bee man who can raise about four thousand dollars, how to live and grow richer every year without hard labor. Write me. John M. Morgan, Ordway, Colo, You have been thinking for some time you would like to become a National Bee- keepers' Association member. Now is your time; a year's dues to the National and eight months' subscript ion to our own [laper, the Beekeepers' Review, beginning with the May number, both for only a dollar. Ad- dress with remittance. The Beekeepers' Re- view, Northstar, Mich. POULTRY For Sale— Single Comb Buff Orpington eggs for hatching, pure bloods; $1 00 per 15 or $5 00 per hundred Satisfaction Guaranteed, W, H. Payne, Hamilton. III. FOR SALE For Sale— Having sold my farm, I now offer for sale .')9 colonies of bees in lo-frame hives, with or without supers or supplies No foulbrood, C.S.Russell, Pine City. Minn. WANTED Wanted— From 4000 lbs to carload of comb and extracted. Iowa, Wisconsin or Michigan honey. Quote me prices. W. H. Hyde, New Canton, III, P-O-R-T-E-R trade mark PORTER registered Bee-Escape Forgetting bees out of the super automatically before removal from the hive. It is a combination of speed, safety and satisfaction that saves honey, time and money for the user. As a labor-saving device it has no superior. Avoids " breaking the back " in shaking heavy supers to get the bees out. Leading beekeepers the world over use these Escapes nd give them their unqualified endorsement. No well-regulated apiary can afford to be without bee-escapes any more than it can afford to be without a bee-smoker. Single Escape. Prices: Each, IS cents; per dozen, $1.6S Double Escape. Prices : Each, 20 cents ; Escape-board with Porter Escape in Per dozen, $2.25 position for use Showing Escape properly mounted in Escape-board All Porter Escapes fit the same size opening in Escape-board. For sale everywhere by dealers in Beekeepers' Supplies. If you have no dealer, order from factory, with full instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, Manufacturers, LEWISTOWN, ILL., U. S. A. American "Bee Journal Our Special Big Four Magazine Offer! Woman's World-Household People's Popular Monthly-Farm Life A special arrangement secured by the American Bee Journal, enables us to offer to our subscribers for a limited time only the American Bee Journal for one year with a full year's subscription to all four of the above high-grade publi- cations, at the special price of $1.30. Four Big Magazines and American Bee Journal All Five for $1.30 PEOPLE'S POPULAR MONTHLY is one of the greatest popular fiction and home magazines published. Con- tains complete stories eacli issue. WOMAN'S WORLD has more subscrib- ers tlian any other magazine published, over two million a month. Its articles, its stories. its illustrations, are the best that money can buy. It is a magazine to be compared with any home magazine in the country, regard- less of price, witliout fear of contradiction of any claims we make for it. Its stories are by authors known the world over. FARM LIFE is a publication adapted to the everyday life of the farm folks, brimfull of things that help to make the farm life more cheerful and homelike. Special arti- cles by authorities on all subjects of inter, est to the up-to-date farmer. This offer supplies you with a Magazine of the best qualily, giving you a year's supply of good liferature at a saving of one-half cost This is the best and biggest combination clubbing oiTer ever presented to the public. The pubisher of the American Bee Journal is glad to announce to his sub- scribers the completion of this splendid arrangement, whereby he can oflfer such an excellent list of publications in connection with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal at the remarkable price of $1.30 for all five. This offer is good for a short time only, and may be increased at any time. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, Illinois HOliSEHOLD THE HOUSEHOLD -A favorite magazine in a million homes. Every issue has many interesting features. PERFECTION IN WAX RENDERING Has been reached liy our process. Ship us comb and cappinjgs, and secure highest returns. Write for prices and full information. THE FRED W. MUTH COMPANY "The Busy Bee Men" 204 Walnut Street Cincinnati, Ohio Comb and Extracted Honey Wanted ^ QUEENS y- QUEENS | Bees by the pound and full colonics S From a superior straiii of three 0 banded Italians. Hardy, eentle. and J{ tliey are hustlers. Guaranteed to Jj please you. V Send for my 1914 descriptive catalog k I have a large stock of modern Bee Q Supplies always on hand. Root's O Goods at factory schedule of prices JJ packed and delivered to my station. jJ All orders will receive prompt and jJ careful attention. JJ EARL M. NICHOLS, O [^ Lyonsville, Massachusetts 9 bocoeoccosoocooeoscooecot* % September, 1914. 321 FREE FREE Memoirs of Napoleon In Three Volumes The personal reminiscences of Baron de Meneval, for thirteen years private secretary to Napoleon Bonaparte, bring out, as no history can, many enlightening and interesting side lights on the character of that greatest of baders. De Meneval's descriptions have the piquancy and interest possible only because he was an actual eye- witness of the scenes and incidents of v\hich he writes. Their reliability and historical intereft can be judged by the fact that the very conservative French Academy publicly recommends them. A SPECIAL OFFER TO OUR READERS By special arrangement with the publishers of Collier's, Tlie National Weekly, "e are able to give these valuable and interesting Memoirs free nitli a year's subscription to Collier's anJ this publi- cation, at a price less than the lowest net cash subscription price cf the two papers. Only a limited quantity of these Memoirs is available, however, so to get the benefit of this special offer you must act quickly. WHAT YOU GET IN COLLIER'S Collier's is the one bi^, fearless, independent Weekly of the whole country. Its editorials are quoted by every paper in the Union. It stands always for the best interests of the greatest number of the people. Among its contributors are such wi iters as CJcorge Randolph Chester, author of " 'Get-Rich-Ouick' W alliiigford." Meredith Nicholson, Amflie Rives, H. G. Wells, Hamlin Garland, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Henry Beach Needham, etc. It numbers among its correspondents such men as Jack London, Arthur Ruhl, James B. Connolly, and Henry Reuterdahl. It is a magazine for the whole family — Editorials, Comments on Congress, Photographic News of the World, Short and Serial Stories by the greatest writers of the day Collier's - - . ^^ , , .,. -- >,^K r ume Memoirs of Naiioleon. - » Am. Bee Journal Jjil.OO ) posipaiu ^^ Call or send subscriptions to this office. If you are already a ^ subscriber, your subscription vpill be extended for a year from its present date of expiration. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, Illinois C2 I^Q ) special combtnation prxe **^ ' ' includinK i he ihrce-vol- WA NTED Honey! Extracted and Comb Will buy or handle on Commission Beeswax Will Pay Highest Prices. Yours very truly, HILDRETH & SEGELKEN 265-267 Greenwich St, New York, N. Y. CARNIOLAN QUEENS AFTER JULY i 1 6 12 Untested $.75 $4.25 Js.oo Tested, the same price. Address. WM. KERNAN, R. F. D. No. 2, - Dushore, Pa. Bee-Supplies LET US FIGURE WITH YOU We know we can satisfy you on quality. Write for catalog, C.C.CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. Dept. S., Kansas City, Mo. per dozen. IMPROVE YOUR STOCK With Anderson s famous Texas QUEENS, Italians and Carniolans from im- ported and home-reared mothers Untested. 75 cts. each: $3 00 per dozen. Tested. $1.25 each; J12 00 GRANT ANDERSON San Benito, Texas BEEKEEPERS' SUPPLIES Such as Winter-cases. Sections, brood- frames of every description. Section hold- ders. Comb Foundation. Supers. Hive-bod- »«s. Smokers, etc. Get my prices before placing your orders. R. H. SCHMIDT Rt 3, Box 209, Sheboygan, Wis. ARE YOU GOING TO BUY LAND? If so, get a copy of our Journal first. It has lands advertised in it from nearly every State in the L'nion. so that you can find just what you want. It reaches 67.000 readers each issue Advertising rates 2c per word. Send 20c for six months' trial subscription. It will be stopped at the end of six months. Farm and Real Estate Journal Traer, Iowa American T^ee Joarnal September, 1914. SYRACUSE CHICAGO NEW YORK BALTIMORE CANONSBURG CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY INCORPORATED : HONEY CANS All Styles-Ail Sizes Top Boxed Square Cans 60-Pound Shipping Cans HONEY PAILS Qaltf^« Of fir^Ae ■ "®^ ^®"*'' Halsted.St., Chicago oaies vTTices . g^g ^ 43^ 5^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ g^y CLOSING OUT SALE BEE BOOKS, VeFlS AND SMOKERS I have some of the following that I would like to close out at once, and on which I make reduced prices, all fiost/'. When >ou are ready to market your honey, you will find an army of purchasers ready to huy it by advertis- ing your product in the Woman's National Weekly, which reaches 200.000 homes e > week. Write for our Special Classified rales aiul free sanu>le copy. Dept. O C, Woman's National Weekly, University City, St Louis. W.H.Laws Will be ready to take care of your Queen orders, whether large or small, the coming season. Twenty-five years of careful breeding brings Laws' Queens above the usual standard; bet- ter let us book your orders now. Tested queens in March; untested, after April ist. About 50 first-class breeding-Queens ready at any date. Prices: rested. $1.25; 5 for Js.oo; Breeders, each Is.oo. Address W. H. Laws, Beeville, Texas. FLORIDA 17.^. Two riioiiths Irlnl fiiilisi-rir'timi tii llori.lns only AKri000«;<>QOQCiSCiS9Soooo90ooouoGOOOOooeooQoosooaoaco! »e<»tsd; PAGE-KENKEL MFG. CO. Manufacturers OF THE "NONE BETTER" BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES Perfect sections from young, white, basswood. White I'ine Hives and Supers. Excellent 'ihiopine - Cases. Brood-Frames, Serarators, etc. We invite your correspondence. Guarantee— All eoods cuaranteed perfect in worltmanshiD and material or money cheerfully refunded Page-Kenkel Manufacturing Co., New London, Wis. DUADD WANTS YOUR ORDERS rnfinn for queens Goldens and 3-Banded Italians For twelve years we have asked for your orders and we hrive eottenall we could fill and sometimes more. Bu'- we have ever tried to sf^rve you right, and will ruarantee similar treat- ment in the future. Prices of Untested. $1.00. Tested. J1.50; Breeders. 3.00 to $5.00. Write for prices in laree quantities. 2-frame Nuclei, Queenless, $2,251 ^ All^ il ■• colonies with Queen 8.00/ Berciair. Orders booked now— delivery last of May or June John W. Pharr, Berciair, Texas Try My Bright ITALIAN QUEENS This is what one customer writes:— Josephine. Tex.. June if>. i«i3. Mr. M. Bates, Greenville. Ala. IMir Sir:— I am sendingyou $0.00 for whicn please send me 12 Untested Golden Italian Queens. The queens you sent me are nne. and old bee rearers say they are the hnest they ever saw. They have surely made a reputation here for you. Several men sa> they will order queens soo^n.^ MORRISON. I have other letters that say the same. Selected Untested, each 60c: Tested, each $1 25; 2-frame nuclei, each $2.50. I guarantee safe arrival and perfect satisfaction. M. BATES, Route 4, Greenville, Ala. ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN QUEENS Three- banded. Bred for persistent profit able production of honey. Prolific, hardy, gentle. The bee for pleasure or profit. One customer says. "Your queen soon had her 10 frames running over with bees that are hustlers. No disease. Satisfaction guaran- teed. Orders filled promptly. Ready May2o. Dntute^§^->^@<-@<-->@^^^@<--»^^->^@<--»@ @ ^ ^^^^^^^s H MM ^^^^^^2^^^^^2^^^S$^^^2!S ^M WE MAKE IT GOOD P'^ THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS The Reputation of wM pis DADANfS FOUNDATION m^ K>c.<:^ Has been built on its merit >ci*,'ic>g> xISPMS It is a Favorite with Beekeepers vjvM^ tof^'XTxT BECAUSE j5rj[ r\icrj5i fl^.vjvK It is so well liked by the BEES PIy^MPK JmSjTpE Whether it's a pound or whether it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT ^!S^^^^^ s Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way Mm ^^^HS^^^^^S^ ^^ 1^^^^^^^^^^^ 5^M I 326 October, 1914. American Hee Jonrnal PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY American Bee .Journal Ist Nat'l Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $1.00 a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. $i.io; ■ nd in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your fubscription is paid. P'or instance. " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December, 1Q14. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-Wedonot send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but chante the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothing less than 5 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 1 times I4C a line 0 times iic a line 6 " I2C " 13 " (I yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices, 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 23d of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy B**s More Beautiful, More Gentle. More lidoitrlOBi, Long Tongaed, The Btit HoBey-Githtrerl. PRIZES:— VI Swiss Atricultural Exposi- tion. Berne. i8g5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. i8g6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Liege Belgium. 1806. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1007. Wt^^^ Universal Exposition, St. Louis, ■^F U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Dominion of Canada. Department of -Agri- culture. Central Experimental Farm. Ottawa. Sept. 5. 1913 Sir:— I am pleased to inform you that the three Queens were received in good condi- tion, and have been safely introduced. (Signed) C. Gordon Hkwitt. Dominion Kiitomo/o^'ist. Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. Stillwater. Oct. 7. 1013. Yourqueen arrived in first-class condition, and introduced her without any difHcully. (Signed) Prof. E. C. Sanborn. State Entomolotli^t. Extra BreedingOueens.J3.o0; Selected, $2.00; Fertilized, $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens. Safearrivalguaranteed. Write Member of thel ANTHONY BIACCI, National Bee- V Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass'n ) Italian Switzerland. This country, politically. Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Pkase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. $ 2 $ A MONTH hiiys Li SluiuUuil Tyi'C- writer your chulcc. Late Stylf ViHlblcH, Hack Spacer. Tabula- tor. T\vo-('(»l(ir Hlt)- hon. Kvery mmlcrn oiK-ratluti c II II V »■ ii ■ k-nce. My prircs luwer than otlii-i laMli pilreis Pe r fi*c t Marhliu-s~ Knlly u'iuirarili.H-"l. AhU fur .'^inTtal Five Dayn H. A. SMITH Free Trial OtTer. 230-231 N. 5th Ave., Chicago. Illinois FEATURES OF ADVANTAGE OF THE ROLLER ENTRANCE BOTTOM BOARD 1. It allows feedinc during any time of the day or year— at mid-day or in mid-winter. 2. It controls the mat- ing of the queen so that mismatingis prevented. 3. It settles the robber bee question as the rol- ler can be quickly turn- ed to bring the small entrance into position. 4. It sifts automatical- ly undesirable drones out of the hive, and cages them in the drone trap. 5. It permits ample ventilation at the height of the honey-flow. 6. It can be instantly closed when moving bees in and out of cellars or from one yard to another. 7. It permits undesirable queens to be sifted out by screening the bees through the wire entrance. 8. It prevents swarms from going to the tops of trees or away to the woods when the beekeeper is away. p. It practically eliminates swarming, as the colonies usually show no inclination to swarm. Why. I do not know. 10. It is adjustable to make a shallow bottom for summer and a deep one for winter. It contains many other valuable features which will be apparent to any beekeeper upon investigation, and if it isonce tried it will always be used. -.-- 8-frame size, $2.00 : 10-frame size, $2.50. Italian Queens, Breeders, $10 to $25. Nothing sold under $10. CHAS. G. SCHAMU INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER Box 48. LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK PERFECTION IN WAX RENDERING Has been reached by our process. Ship us comb and cappings, and secure highest returns. Write for prices and full information. THE FRED W. MUTH COMPANY "The Busy Bee Men" 204 Walnut Street Cincinnati, Oiiio Comb and Extracted Honey Wanted TENNESSEE-BRED QUEENS 42 years' experience in queen-rearing— Breed 3-band Italians only Nov. I to May 1 Untested $150 $7.50 |i3.5o Select Untested 2.00 8.50 1500 Tested 2.50 i.l-So 25.00 Select Tested.... 3.00 1650 30.00 May I to June i June I to July i 12 $1.25 $ 650 $11.50 1.50 7.50 1350 2.00 10.50 18.50 2.75 15.00 27.00 $1.00 t 5.00 $ Q.OO 1.25 6.50 12.00 1.75 0.00 17.00 2.50 13.50 2500 Jul y I to Nov. I I 6 12 » .75 ( 4.00 S 7.50 1. 00 5.00 0.00 1.50 8.00 15.00 2.00 10.00 18.00 Capacity of yard 5000 queens a year— Select Queen tested for breeding, $5 The very best Queen tested for breeding, $10. 300 fall reared tested Queens ready to mail, $2.50 to $10 each. Queens for export will be carefully packed in long distance cages, but safe delivery is not guaranteed John M. Davis, Spring Hill, Tenn. October, 1914. American Hee JonrnalJ CEDAR WOOD Hive bodies. 8 or m fiaiiie. 25c each. (_-"overs and botlorns, prices upon application. Kal con KoLindalion and Bee Supplies. FROFALCON QUEENS Kverytliing for the beekeeper. Address. J. C. Frohliger, Berkeley, Calif. Greater San Francisco PV«« mention Am. B I pAjRiorr of ChAiik ■on, N. '.T. eayi: ^"Wa cat with ons :t fo'or Dombtnad UacJtdDea,, lajr) muter 60 ohaff Mtm wltta 7-ln cMp. '.00 bouey-raclcg, SOO (aTOOd-frame* ^000 AonQ^-bozee, and « great de«\ L:f other »-3rk Tolswtaterweli&TV :.ot^b;&'^e,Ami>3iitoft>»fr-)tdTes,ete^ tamaAs an3 *p8 sxpsottO'do Itwtth ^le ^w 'it vHa do iB jmn say l4 TLasc mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy: not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan Bred in Separate Yards Untested, one. 75c; 6, $4.25; 12. $750: 25 U25; 100, $50. Tested, one. $1.50; six, $8.00; 12. I15. Breeders of either strain, $5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame, $2.50; six one-frame, $15: two-frame$3, 50; six two-frame $20.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame, $J.oo; six one-frame, $17.40; two-frame. $4; six two frame $2^.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. QUEENS of MOORE'S STRAIN of ITALIANS PRODUCE WORKERS Tliat fill the supers quick With honey nice and thick. They have won a world-wide, reputa- tion for honey gathering, hardiness, gen- tleness, etc. Untesled queens, $1.00; six. $500; 12. Jo. 00. Select unlested. $125; six. $6.00; 12. $11.00. .Safe arrival andsalisfaction guaranteed. Circular free J. P. MOORE, Queen-breeder Route 1, Morgan, Ky ARE YOU GOING TO BUY LAND? If so, get a copy of our Journal first. It has lands advertised in it from nearly every State in the I'nion, so that you can find just what you want. It reaches 67.000 readers each issue Advertising rates 2c per word. Send 20c for six months* trial subscription. It will be stopped at the end of six months. Farm and Real Estate Journal Traer, Iowa Bingham Bee Smoker NEW niNGHAM P)EE SMOKER Patented Nearly Forty Years On the Market The original bee smoker was invented and patented by Mr, T, F, Bingham in 1878, 1882, 1892 and 1903. The Bingham Smoker is up to date, and the standard in this and many foreign countries. It has recently been improved, and is the all-important tool of the most exten- sive honey producers of the world. No other invention in apiculture has been so important, as little could be accom- plished without the bee smoker. For sale direct or at your dealers. Postage extra. Smoke Kngine. Doctor Conqueror Little Wonder. .4 inch stove. Weight i}i pounds. J1.25 -3^ ;.■ " ■' i?4 •• ,85 •|./ ■• •• •' '^ " ■" .2» I .50 Two Largest Sizes With Hinged Cover A. G. WOODMAN COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan BEE - KEEPER'S NOVELTY POCKET - KNIFE Phil. H. Oraf, Canton, O. Your Name and Address will be put on one side of the handle as shown in tne cut, and on the other side a picture of a Queen-Bee, a Worker-Bee, and a Lirone-Bee. The handle is celluloid, and transparent, through which is seen your naine. If you lose this Knife it can be returned to you, or it serves to iden- tity you If you happen to be injured fatally, or rendered unconscious. The cut is the exact size. We have succeeded in getting this knife made in lots from gen- w"u^ car-van steel. It is especially well tempered and keeps its edge remarkably. When ordering be sure to write exact name and address. Knife delivered within two weeks after we receive order. T P""'", postpaid, $1.00; or with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal — both for $1.80; or given Free as a premium for sending us 3 New sub- scriptions at $1.00 each. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^gj^^^^gj ^ ^ Untested Italian Queen-Bees ^ OUR STANDARD BRED ^ 6 Queens for $6.00; ^ 3 for $3.50; 1 for $1.25 H American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois ^ a ^ s s s ^ s October, 1914. American IBae Journal falcon" QUEENS Three-band and Golden Italians, Caucasians and Carniolans SELECT Untested, luly 1st to Oct. 1st, one, $ .S.", ; six, $1.50; twelve, $ 8.0O Untested, July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, 1.00; six, 5.50 ; twelve. 10.00 Tested, $1.50 each. Select tested, 2.00. AU queens are reared in strong and vigorous colonies, and mated from populous nuclei. Instructions for introducing are to be found on the reverse side of the cage cover. A full line of bee supplies and foundation manufactured by us at l^aiconer, JN. Y. Write for samples of our foundation and Red Catalog, postpaid. WESTERN DISTRIBUTERS :-C. C. demons. Bee Supply Co., 128-130 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Missouri OTHER DEALERS EVERYWHERE Red Catalog, postpaid "Simplified Beekeeping," postpaid W. T. FALCONER MFG. CO., FALCONER N. Y. Where the good bee hives come from HONEY LABELS Owing to the many enquiries we have had for Honey Labels, we have put in a line of these for the convenience of our readers. Send for catalog, giving samples of labels with postpaid prices. We also hst Envelopes and printed Letter Heads. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. SPECIAL OFFER Will sell 300 choice tested Italian Queens at 85c each. These are the very best Queens in our 3 apiaries, and will guar- antee every queen toiiive entire satisfac- tion. If not satisfied within one year we will refund your money. FRED LEININGER & SON Delphos, Ohio Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doing our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication for the wideawake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in IQ13. when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for loii. For ion we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years. In decidingjust what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by expressions of the majority. JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue for IQ12. In Betting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raisinu and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY — Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for 1012 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subiect. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Extensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in >iTup, stored in the cells in cold weather, may eventually sour in them. When feeding must be resorted to in cold weather, the best food to give is candy. The recipe is simple: Add soft water to sugar and boil slowly BUR-I%^«AyE .f, OHIMJ. >A«UO«lTA MMW Another Mac.iuoketa Scene October, 1914. American Hee Journal until the water is evaporated. Stir constantly so that it will not burn. To know when it is done, dip your finder first into cold water then into the syrup. If what adheres is brittle to the teeth, it is boiled enough. Pour into shallow pans, slightly greased and. when cold, break into pieces of suitable size. Sugar candy is ted over the brood combs of a colony. It is food in its most concentrated form ind iQay be used both out-of-doors and in the cellar. There is no danger of diar- rhea when the colonies are supplied with this or with thick syrup. Unripe honey or thin nectar Is sure to prove injurious to the bees if they are compelled to winter upon It. Ac- rnrding to some authorities, the nectar of blossoms may contain as much as SO per cent of water, when fresh har- vested. This would mean 5 parts of water to 1 of sugar. We will some day discuss this matter, for there is undoubtedly a greit difference In the t'ickness cf the nectar at different times, according to the atmospheric and soil conditions. To sum up the experience gathered, give your bees thin food in the sum- mer, thick food in the winter. If you fear crystallization in the combs, add 10 per cent of honey or a little tar- taric acid. Use soft water. A discussion of this subject will be welcomed by the Journal. Beekeepiiifj luforiiiatioii in the Dailies The St. Louis Post-Dispatch of Sun- day July 19, contains a whole page de- voted to the study of bef"-life, borrowed from "The Courtship of Animals," by W. P. Pycraft, of London. It is a very interesting description of the natural history of the honey-bee, and aside from a few minor inaccuracies, is cor- rect. The cuts have evidently been borrowed, perhaps in a roundabout way, from American authors. We con- gratulate this great daily for the space thus granted to bee-culture. Miscellaneous ^ News Items Fall Meeting in Connecticut The fall convention of the Connecticut Bee- keepers' Association will be held in the old Senate Chamber, State Capitol at Hartford Saturday, Oct. 24. The morn- ing session will be devoted to an in- formal gathering, payment of dues, etc. ; the afternoon session to regular business, report of Connecticut Fair Committee and addresses. It is expected that important action will be taken at this meeting relative to the establishment of an apiary at the Connecticut Agricultural College, for which the association has been working for several years. The Pro- gram Committeeannounces the follow- ing: Mr. O. F. Fuller, of Blackstone, Mass., president of Worcester Beekeepers' Association and originator of the famous " Fuller candy " for winter feed ing, will address us on " Experiments with Bee Foods," demonstrated, and "Rearing Queens in the Brood-Cham- ber with a Laying Queen." Those who failed to hear Mr. Fuller at Amherst on June 12, lastyear, should not miss this opportunity. The re- mainder of the program follows : L. C. Root, (subject to be chosen). W. C. Rockwell, "Signs of a Good Queen." John Thorret, " Wintering." Question box, etc. L. Wayne Adams, Sec. Northern Illinois and Southern Wis- consin Convention — The annual meet- ing of the Northern Illinois and South- ern Wisconsin Beekeepers' Associa- tion will be held in the Court House in Rockford. III., on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 1914 All those interested in bees are invited to attend. B. Kennedy, Sec, 2507 W. State St., Rockford, III. The Gallagher Apiary Arriving at the pretty and lively city of Maquoketa, Iowa, on the evening July (i, I repaired to the hotel, and after cleaning away the grime of dust and cinders with a good bath, I ate a hearty supper and made some enquiries. I had never met Mr. Gallagher, but I had often corres- ponded with him, so I knew he was an old resident. His business is that of a jeweler. I do not wish to throw showy bouquets, but I can truly say that I have found out by long acquaint- ance with beekeepers that a successful jeweler always makes a good honey producer. And why ? Because, as Heddon used to say: "Our business is a business of details." There is no business more composed of fine detail than the jeweler's business, especially if he is also a watch and clock repairer. He knows that the least little derange- ment will make a clock go wrong. That is why I repeat: A beekeeping jeweler is a successful beekeeper. In answer to my telephone call, the reply came in a pleasant voice : " Glad to hear that you are here. My boy will call for you in a few minutes." Indeed, the />oy came, with a big automobile, but he turned out to be a bright young man of 2G. To my remark that he was a pretty big "boy," he laughingly re- plied, " I am the kid." It was only a few blocks to the Gallagher home, and I spent a very pleasant evening. As it was already dark, the visit to the bees was put off until morning. Mr. Gallagher has solved the problem of keeping a large number of colonies on a small plot of ground. His 16.5 colonies are located on a back lot 60 feet by 110. But he manages to keep there also a very good vegetable gar- den, where lettuce, parsnip, cabbage, celery, peas, beans, strawberries, aspara- gus, etc , are grown. He has also there A I'AKl Ol lUE GaLI.AGHKK AllARY Whu U OCCUI'lKh A Sl'ACE 6jX6o FEET October, 1914. a chicken house, from which the chick- ens are now excluded lor the benefit of the bees. In this house the bees are wintered, as I will e.xplain farther on. The bees are actually occupying only a a space GOxfiO feet. They do not annoy the neighbors, for they are all of a peaceable strain of Italians. They have no European foulbrood for the same reason, although this disease is in the vicinity. The hives are 8 frames. To those who are aware of my predilection for very large hives, I will say that this is perhaps the only stumbling block in Mr. Gallagher's path. His bees swarm more than he likes. But he knows how to produce honey, comb honey, and get his sections well filled. When he puts on a second case, he usually puts it on top of the first. When the first is nearly sealed, he shifts them. He does this from time to time as occasion re- quires. As a result, he secures most of his sections well sealed. He rears his own queens from his best stock. We don't do that. We don't think we can spare the time. But I believe it pays, for if you breed from your most pro- lific, most active, and most peaceable stock, you will be likely to secure pro- lific, active and peaceable bees. We think 100 colonies is enough for 'a locality. Either the vicinity of Ma- quoketa is better than our own for pasture or the smaller size of the colo- nies makes a larger number possible. Mr. Gallagher had a fair crop of clover in the supers. It is true that they have had very good weather and plenty of rain, while in our own locality the absence of rain had dried everything. Mr. Gallagher clips all his queens, as do most of the apiarists who are un- able to be always there when the bees swarm. His method of clipping is his own. He does not pick her up. With a pair of jeweler's tweezers in the left hand, he catches the queen by one of her wings while she stands on the comb. Pulling a little on it causes her to grip the comb and try to pull away. Then with manicure scissors in the right hand, he cuts the projecting wing. This he illustrated for me on a worker- bee with great expedition, showing that he was an expert at the job. Now as to wintering. His cellar has ^jbf J k jga f ^m iS^F^''- m Bft The Gallagher Chicken House Used to Wlster the Bees.— (See article.) The Gallagher Home at Maquoketa a hot water furnace in it, and is too warm. The chicken house is close to the apiary, and our friend hit upon the plan of making it a winter repository. This was done with trifling expense. The inner walls were lined with 4 or 5 inches of fine straw, held in place with wire netting, so as to make a non-con- ducting siding. About 2 feet of the same material is used overhead. For ventilation, two stove pipes are set up in the upper packing and draw off all the moist air into the space under the roof. Mr. Gallagher said that often in very cold weather the underside of the roof was coated with frost produced by the moist air arising from the cluster. For the entering air, he relies simply upon the porosity of his straw packing. Dur- ing the past five or six winters, he has thus wintered some 150 colonies with insignificant loss. The hives are brought in without their cover and piled along, in rows, leaving just a pas- sage between the rows for inspection purposes. This is the cheapest winter repository I have ever seen. After our trip to the Coverdale farm, mentioned in the August number, Mr. Pellett, the inspector, joined us. We enjoyed the hospitality of thfe Galla- ghers, and were shown the surround- ings in an automobile evening tour. We visited some remarkable grottoes, about 10 miles away. I had no idea that such specimens of natural wonders could be found in Iowa. The growing of sweet clover is given an impetus throughout the country, but more so in that part of Iowa, owing to a number of farmers following the ex- ample given by Mr. Coverdale. The use of this plant in agriculture is going to prove a boon to the beekeeper throughout the land. A NewUncappingKnife.— Mr. Stephen Anthony, of New Zealand, sends us the translation of the description of a ro- tary uncapping knife invented in Rus- sia, by A. M. Loginof. The invention is based upon that of the foot-power dental drill, a steel disk being used for blade. We do not believe this inven- tion would appeal to those who have used the steam-heated Bingham knife. However, it shows that human ingen- uity is at work in bee-culture, around the globe. Illinois State Meeting.^The 24th an- nual meeting of the Illinois State Bee- keepers' Association will be held at the State House in Springfield on Thurs- day and Friday, Nov. 19 and 20. Mr. N. E. France, of Wisconsin, will be with us. His subject will be " Short Cuts." Prof. J. G. Mosier, of the Uni- versity of Illinois, will speak on the subject of "Sweet Clover." Mr. C. P. Dadant, of Hamilton, 111., and Dr. E. F. Phillips, of Washington, D. C. Sub- ject, " Temperatureand Aloistureof the Hive in Winter." Come prepared to help make it a good meeting. Jas. A. Stone, Sec. The New Jersey Summer Meeting — The summer meeting of the New Jer- sey Beekeepers' Association is growing in interest and attendance, which prom- ises well for the improvement of bee- keeping within the State. On July 8, more than 70 people gath- ered from all parts of the State to make new acquaintances and renew the old, and to learn whateverwas to be offered by the beginners, and, no less, by the veterans. Mr. Robert B. Spicer, at whose queen- rearing yards, located among the moun- tains of northern New Jersey, and about two miles from Wharton, the meeting was held, gave talks and prac- tical demonstrations on queen-rearing. Many beginners were heard to remark upon the value which these demonstra- tions would be to them Without re- flection upon the professionals, it may be said the association is composed largely of "back-lotters," who con- 336 October, 1914 American Hee Journal tribute in no small degree to the inter- est and success of the meetings of the association, and it is safe to count upon always meeting a large represen- tation of the faithful. Mr. Spicer provided a substantial lunch which was thoroughly enjoyed, under the trees. President C. H. Root gave a talk upon his special hive cover, "which never warps, cracks nor blows off." Mr. Hornor, of Philadelphia, also contributed a paper, after which there was a general informal discussion. Secretary (and inspector) Carr made a photograph of those present, which was very successful. The spirit of sociability which per- vaded the meeting added greatly to the enjoyment, and mention was frequently made of the next meeting. The annual meeting will be held in December at New Brunswick, in the Entomological Building of the New Jersey State Agri- cultural Department. C. D. Cheney. Lyndhurst, N. J. Long Idea Hives. — Won't you please publish a description with your opinion of the" long idea" hive as used in Europe ? Eugene Baker. Los Angeles, Calif. The name " long idea " is essentially American. In Europe these hives are called " horizontal," because they are single-story hives, without supers. The hives upon which supers are used are called "vertical " in contradistinction. The systems of apiculture mostly in vogue throughout the world locate the brood-nest in one bodyand the storage apartment or supers in one or more additional bodies, placed over the brood-chamber. Differing from these leading methods are two extremes, the horizontal hive system without supers, and the sectional hive system in which even thebroodchamber is divided into two or more stories. Among the latter are the Heddon and Danzenbaker hives. The horizontal hive, of which the Layens is the main type, is a hive with deep frames, usually deeper than long, and containing from 16 to 30 frames. The Layens frame measures 13's inches in width by Iti's in depth, outside. The indside measurements are 12;'s by 14-'4. These measurements are taken from Bertrand's " Conduite du Rucher" (Management of the Apiary). It is self evident that sectional hives must have very shallow frames while horizontal hives must have very deep ones. Hence the deep frames used by Layens. The principal claims for these hives are : 1. Their simplicity. There is only one kind of frame and one kind of body in the apiary. The colony spreads out horizontally, and more frames are added as necessary. When the honey is extracted, every frame may be re- moved which does not contain brood. With the help of dummies, the hives accommodate the smallest as well as the largest colonies. 2. Swarm prevention. The brood may be removed from the entrance and empty combs placed there so that the field workers have to pass over or through them to reach the brood-nest. It is claimed by the supporters of this method that this is one of the best pre- ventives of swarming. It is true. 3. Better wintering. Those who use deep frame hives are unanimous in saying that the bees winter better in them than in shallow hives, because they have more honey above the cluster. The disadvantages are as follows: 1. The single story hive does not per- mit of comb-honey production. We have ourselves tried the placing of sec- tions in side frames and almost inva- riably the bees have failed to fill the lower part of the sections, and have soiled them much more than sections located above the brood-chamber. 2. It is much more difficult to remove deep combs from a brood-chamber than shallow ones. Those who are ac- fi^Ai.:^^.:/ -r-f,- .'r:aK,^jt!CayL».i^t^.i■^L.^^r.-^■.^;^■.«wi.J^ Exi'EKi.MENrAi. Apiary of Mr. lioiK maru in Hukch'ndy.— Nute thk IIokizontai. " I.oni; Idea" Hivks on -riiE Ruarr 337 American Vee Journal ern Iowa, and I used the long hive entirely." We have ourselves tried the " long idea" with the Quinby frames, and had at one time some 30 hives of this style with 'M frames each, which were equiv- alent to 30 frames of the Poppleton hive. We also had some (iO hives with 11) frames ll'/i by 12 inside. But these were so arranged that we could also use supers on them. We finally re- turned entirely to the system of shal- low supers which we use still. A Small Group of Those in Attendance at the Clarinda, Iowa. Field Meet Aug. n I. Carl Anderson. 2. Dr. E. L. Crowson. 3. M. E Darby. 4. E. J. Baxter. 5. C. B. Baxter- 6. H C. Hartman. 7. O. E. Ostrus. 8. Thos. Parker. <; T. E. Ostrus. 10. W. D. Foley, it. Harold Ostrus. 12. Oscar Ostrus. 13. G. M Shaver. 14. J. L Strong. customed to handling them count this a worthless argument, but all novices readily see the difference. 3. It is more difficult to extract the honey from deep combs than from shallow super frames. The combs are heavy and more tiresome to handle. More stooping is required. 4. When removing surplus honey for extracting, the hive must necessarily be kept open quite a while. This gives occasion for robbing, if the crop is at an end. When supers are used, the super may be removed, the hive closed at once and the bees shaken out in front. A bee-escape, which may be used also under a super, is out of the question with the one story, horizontal hive. The name " long idea " was given to the first horizontal hives offered in this country, in 1872, by Gen Adair, of Ken- tucky. He had named his hives " new idea," but the change was popularly made in some way to what the " idea " represented. The champion of " long idea " hives in this country is the old veteran soldierand practical beekeeper, O. O. Poppleton, of Florida. His hives hold 24 frames UK by 11>2 inches, in- side measure. In the American Bee Journal of April 13, 1899, in reply to objections made to this style of hive, Mr. Poppleton wrote: "The discussion over these hives occurred when I was first starting my apiary in Iowa. After trying both styles for a year or two, I adopted the long single-story hive and still use it, not having a single double-deck hive in my apiaries. I used about 500 double-story hives for two years in Cuba, and was glad to return to my own style Let me review Mr. Doolittle's objections very briefly. I can work a single-story hive much easier than a double story. The extra depth of my frame and a little higher stand makes the top of the hive the same height from the ground as the top of a two-story Langstroth hive. I shake my bees inside, not on top of the hive, and avoid the trouble of crawling bees he speaks of. I used to be as successful as the average bee- keeper in wintering my bees in north- The Seventh Iowa Summer Meeting.— The series oi summer meetings being held in Iowa do not lack in interest as the season advances. At some points the attendance is notas large as others, owing to the fact that the number of beekeepers in reach are less. At Clar- inda on Aug. 12 the friends gathered at the apiary of J. L. Strong, who has kept bees in Iowa for nearly half a cen- tury. Nearly as many came from Mis- souri as from Iowa, and E. J. Ba.xter and son of Nauvoo, 111., came all the way across the State to be with us. M. E. Darby, the State Bee Inspector of Missouri, and E. J. Baxter were the principal speakers, and entertained their hearers in an interesting manner with incidents of days that are past and friends who have passed on. Bee diseases and other subjects were discussed for a time, and much pleas- ure was the result of the examination of the Strong apiary and apparatus. The day was very pleasantly spent in informal discussion and in cultivating the acquaintance of the persons in at- tendance. Only one more of these summer meetings remains to be held. The photograph shows only a small part of those present at Clarinda. Frank C. Pellett. Atlantic, Iowa. Bee-I^eping M FbR Women Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Marengo. III. Beekneping as a Vocation — Location To Illinois Wife: — There is some- thing to be learned by a visit to a large apiary; but don't count too much on it. If you dip in for yourself, with the aid of a good text-book on beekeeping and a bee jo 'rnal, you will know more certainly whether or not beekeeping is a thing exactly fitted for you. Da- dant's Langstroth ($1.2-5) and Root's A B C and .\ Y Z of Bee Culture ($2.00) are the leading text-books on bee cul- ture. To either of these Dr. Miller's "Fifty Years Among the Bees" ($1.00) may serve as a supplement. It gives in detail his entire management for the year, making it more instructive than a number of visits would be. Either of these books can be obtained by send- ing the price attached to the American Bee Journal, Hamilton, 111. To give up another business to em- bark upon beekeeping with little or no previous experience would be a hazard- ous experiment. If there should be a fail- ure of the honey crop in the first year — and such things do happen — one would be likely to wish very much that the experiment had not been tried. Much better it would be to begin beekeeping on a small scale as a side issue, con- tinuing the previous regular business until such time as experience should warrant casting loose from other sources of income. For some will make a success of beekeeping and others a failure ; and no one can tell in advance who shall be the successes, and who th • failures. Neither can any one decide the question for himself by any amount of study or investigation without actually trying it on with 338 October, 1914. American Hee Journal the bees. Those, however, who find themselves fitted for the business will find a fascination and enjoyment in it entirely independent of the mone- tary reward obtained. With regard to choosing a location, it is difficult to give anything but gen- eral advice. Right where you are is probably a good place to begin, and possibly to continue. In the North, white clover and basswood are the leading honey plants for the early har- vest, and buckwheat and heartsease for the late harvest. Alsike and sweet clover are fine yielders where they are found in quantity. A paying crop may be obtained from any one of these plants alone; but, of course, there is a better chance for success where two or more of them are found in the same locality. Please remember that a bee's locality reaches out IK to 2 miles or more in every direction. Moth and Combs It is interesting and instructive to read what the Editor and Mr. J. L. Byer have to sayabout combs outdoors, pages 29.5 and 804. It may do no harm to tell how it is here, part way between the two places. If a colony dies in the cellar in win- ter— it would no doubt be the same outdoors — it is a matter of certainty that sooner or later the combs left by the dead colony will become wormy. If left in the cellar, however, the prog- ress of the miscreants will be very slow, and little damage will be done to the combs until some time in May or June. If taken outdoors the prog- ress of the worms will be much more rapid; so we do not take them out until we are ready to give them in care of the bees. If, however, combs have been left out over winter, and subjected to severe freezing, they will generally, although not always, pass through the summer without being touched by the moth. But they are never closed up so that the moth can gain no entrance, but left well ventilated. They would probably be still more secure against moth if entirely uncovered, only exposure to the rain would not be good for them. Very rarely do spiders make webs to keep out the moth. The closer the combs are crowded together the better it seems to suit the moth, so we prefer to have combs un- occupied by bees always spread well apart. The Smoke Method of Introduction We have tried introducing queens by the Arthur C. Miller smoke method, only to find it a failure in every in- stance. Possibly our deep bottom- boards may account for the failures. It has been explained that the secret of the success of the plan is that under cover of the smoke the queen imme- diately rushes through the outer wall of bees into the center of the cluster, where she is safe. With 2 inches space between the floor of the hive and the bottom-bars she cannot readily do that, but must run to one side of the hive or the other before she can get up into the cluster, and she may run the full length of the hive to the back end. On page '.'Mi, Mr. Byer gives his ex- perience with the plan, and one colony which was particularly vicious " was given an extra hard smoking so as to be sure of results." In spite of the severe smoking the queen was killed. According to liditor Root, however, it may not have been in spite of, but liecause of, the severe smoking. In Gleanings in Bee Culture for Sept. 1, he says, page 657, "Oversmoking or undersmoking will lead to failure." He further says that "apparently we would better stick to the cage plan fora while yet." •^--•-^ Overcoming Stubborn Queenlessness Once in a while there happens a case of a queenless colonywhich is so stub- born about accepting a queen that it kiPs them as fast as they are given. We had such a case last year. Seven queens were killed in succession, al- though different plans were used and extra precautions taken. It would have been better to have broken up the col- ony, but there is a stubborn streak in Dr. Miller, and finally a virgin just hatched was given, which was respected and allowed to remain. Although the introduction of a young virgin causes a delay of 8 or 10 days, as compared with the introduc- tion of a laying queen, there is the practical certainty that it will be ac- cepted by any colony. A colony with laying workers will not accept a good laying queen, but it will accept a very young virgin. Even a colony with a normal laying queen will not refuse a virgin less than 24 hours old, but will treat her kindly so long as she is a baby. But as soon as she becomes old enough so that it is a question between her and the old queen, then your virgin will disappear. It would seem that it is the older bees that ol.ject to having a step- mother. So if the older bees be re- moved from the colony there will be less trouble. An easy way to remove them is to remove the colony to a new place, and the best way to do that is to put on the stand, in place of the hive, another hive containing perhaps empty combs, all but one frame of brood, set- ting on this the supers, if there were any, then the cover, and on top of this the hive containing the colony. Then the queen is introduced to the colony on top, and when she is laying nicely things may be restored to their former condition. The returning field bees find a full colony with a laying queen, and accept the situation. But in the exceptional cases of those colonies bound to kill every queen given them the plan will not work, the old bees killing the new queen when she is put down on the stand. So this year, having again a trouble- some case, we varied the plan. We put up the colony as before, taking away the supers, at least temporarily, and on the stand we set a hive with its one frame of brood, just as before, only this time the hive was not fastened to the bottom-board. When the queen was accepted and laying in the hive on top, we went in the evening, after bees had stopped flying (before they began flying in the morning would be just as well), lifted the hive from on top and set it on the ground, gave a little smoke to the hive on the stand and carefully removed it, so as not to start the bees to flying, set the hive with the laying queen on the stand, took off the cover, put over the hive a sheet of newspaper, and carefully set on this the hive with the one frame of brood, covering it up. We thus had all the old bees imprisoned in the hive-body on top. 'ihis proceeding saved the day. When a hole was dug through the newspaper, so that the bees could get through one at a time, they did so with a confused feeling, all the fight taken out of them, glad to be accepted without any resistance. Of course, all this trouble would hardly be worth while in ordinary cases, but it may be well worth while in the case of a valuable queen, and in any case there is a gain of several days of brood-rearing as compared with giving a virgin. CaUFORNIA ^ BEE-tteEPING Conducted by J I'^. I'l.EAsANTs. Orange. Calif. Letter from Mr. Bixby On page 2(37 of the August Bee Jour- nal, in the "California Department," appear criticisms by its venerable edi- tor, Mr. Pleasants, of the Executive Board of the California State Bee- keepers' Association and its journal the Western Honey Bee. Ten months ago the Honey Bee, heavily in debt and receiving but a feeble support, was turned over to the present editor, admittedly to die. He adopted the policy of telling the truth about apicultural matters, as near as he could ascertain it. Naturally, this aroused some criticism, but today the journal is free from debt, has the cash support of some of the most prominent beekeepers all over the country, and without expenditure for advertising, but through the personal influence of the Editor and a few other earnest workers, has increased its paid sub- scription list over /Ji) percoil. P>om the viewpoint of the Editor and the lixecutive Board, there is no " grave mislake " about this. Editor Western Honey Bee. We are sorry that our August "notes" displeased the ]'"ditor of the Western Honey Bee, but judging from October, 1914. American Hee Journal the following published in the August " Bee," it would seem we are not alone : Editor Honey Bee:— At the regular meet- ing of our San Bernardino County Club the members appointed a committee to com- municate with you in regard to the refer- ence to the prices of honey for this year in the editorials of the May Honey Bee. we feel it was uncalled for and should not have appeared; and unite a number have ex- pressed themselves that they would not support the " Bee " if it is continued. J. A. Mack, St-rrfl,irv-'rre,isiir,r. vV R. Wiggins. I'lesulcnt. E.G. BURUICK. I'Uel'resideiit. Bloomineton, Calif.. July 4. IQ14. Miscellaneous Notes In an inspector's rounds among the apiaries, he finds many interesting and some amusing features. A beekeeper whom I visited lately keeps his hive register with bricks. He has his code reduced to a system equal to a card in- dex. A brick on edge means one thing, one lying flat another, two bricks extra good condition, honey to spare, etc. He says he can stand at one end of the apiary and read the entire con- dition of his apiary from that distance. It is certainly a simplified method, if he can keep his bricks in place. .\ story, which was told me some time ago by a young man who assisted an irascible old beekeeper in time of stress, will bear repeating. The old man's lameness from rheumatism made it impossible for him to wheel in the honey, but he could manage the work in the extracting house by sitting at the table while uncapping the combs. His wife and the young man who came to help took the honey from the hives, the young man of course doing the heavy work. The old gentleman was somewhat given to using "language " when irritated, a fact which greatly troubled his wife who was a pious woman. The day was hot, and appar- ently the bees were, too, for when the old gentleman reached down for a fresh comb to uncap he got stung on the end of the nose. Suddenly throw- ing up his head he bumped it hard against the table. Well, for a few sec- The Boys are Proud of Their Power Extractor onds the " air was blue." The old lady and her helper, who, by the way, was a near neighbor's son, were working at the time near the honey house. She turned a shocked and grave face to her assistant and said, "Poor wicked old man, Louie, I am afraid he and your pa will fetch up at the same place." As an example of efficiencyin caring for bees, I have not seen surpassed that of a young woman who manages an apiary I inspected last week. She cares for an apiary of 12.5 colonies. She took out this season five tons of extracted honey. The apiary is in reach of both sage and bean bloom. All the colonies except one, which was slightly affected with European foul brood, were in excellent condition. They have ample stores for carrying them through the winter, and there were only two queenless colonies in the entire apiary. The young lady has had entire management of this apiary for a year, and has had no help even during extracting time. The bees are in good, well painted hives, and the whole management would be a credit to any man. The quaintest beekeeper of my ac- quaintance is little Joseph Holtz, Jr., the 8-year-old son of a neighbor of mine, who, by the way, is one of our representative bee-men. Little Joe has taken a keen interest in all his father does with bees since he has been old enough to hold the smoker, has never seemed to have any fear of bees, and has been father's " helper " for over a year. His father has given him a little apiary of his own, nine colonies I think, some regulars and some nuclei. The picture shows Joseph, Jr., with- out mask, holding a frame, and his Loading Honey in the Mountains Part of a Six Ton Crop 340 American l^ee Journal October, 1914. brother Alban, aged 6. with the mask, wielding the smoker. The little apiary is on a hillside adjoining the father's large apiary. When the picture was taken the bees were flying lively and somewhat cross. These children also have each a little garden of his own which they fenced (with wire) and till themselves. They speak both German and English, the parents wisely teach- ing them the mother tongue first. The season's honey is now mostly hauled out of the mountain regions and stored, awaiting better prices The accompanying snapshots show the loading of the honey cases at the apiaries. w > Our Coming Beekeepers Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy, Ontario. Feeding This brings up the feeding question, a live issue this fall in Ontario, as with a failure of the honey crop in most cases, and high price of sugar, m;iny beekeepers hardly know what to do. Wherever sugar can be obtained doubtless it will be fed, but in many cases the beekeepers have not a bit of honey of any kind even if they pre- ferred to feed it instead of sugar syrup. In my own case 1 thought 1 had defi- nitely settled the matter as to how thick a syrup to feed, and it gave me quite a jolt to see what friend J. A. McK'nnon has to say on this question in the last issue of the American Bee Journal. While I have the greatest respect for Mr. McKinnon's ideas (he is one of the best queen breeders and all around beekeepers), yet I think he is greatly mistaken in his conclusions when he states that a syrup made of two parts of sugar to one of water, fed in large quantities to the bees, will granulate solidly. I do not even add any acid to the syrup, and I am just about as sure as I can be of anything, that this thick syrup does not act that way with me. How do I know? Simply by the fact that after using this proportion for a number of years I have never lost a colony so fed, and when weighing col- onies after being fed this mixture, they always showed a greater net gain than other colonies fed a like amount of sugar with more water to make a thin- ner syrup. Often I have " jammed " a very pop- ulous colony to get spare combs to give to weaker colonies in the late fall, and I have never yet noticed this granula- tion when giving these combs to the bees, and these weaker colonies in- variably winter well when so treated. Give me a thick syrup made of two parts of sugar to one of water, feed the syrup warm to the bees in the evening, the faster the better, at any time after Sept. 20 in our locality, and I will not bother about insuring the bees over winter provided proper protection is given, and they have enough of this mixture to keep them until warm weather. When I once find the trou- ble Mr. McKinnon mentions, then I will change the formula, but for the present I am fully persuaded to use the old standard when I start to feed next Monday (21st) if all goes well. Outlook Improves At this date, Sept. Iti, there has been a wonderful improvement in prospects for next season, as compared with a month ago when sending in the last lot of notes for the American Bee Journal. Bounteous rains came after Aug. 16, accompanied by ten days of warm weather, with the result that everything is as green as in early June, and wher- ever a bit of clover had been able to stand the drouth, it is now showing up nicely. Rains came too late for buckwheat and as a result we have a very light yield of honey from that source. From all information I have been able to gather, conditions are much the same all over the province, barring some favored localities. In our own apiaries in York county it will keep us hustling to even up the feeding bill by selling the little buck- wheat surplus we will have. Why not feed buckwheat honey? Simply be- cause it is in super combs and has to be extracted, as very few combs are heavy and sealed enough to place in the brood-nest. Asidefrom that, when buckwheat honey is once extracted, I much prefer to feed sugar syrup even if I have to pay as much for the sugar per pound as I can get for the buckwheat honey. Even when sugar is as high as at the present ($(j.30 per hundred at this date), buckwheat is ruling above that figure, and I shall not feed any of the latter. I have already bought my sugar, the bulk of it, before the raise in price. *-•-» ■ Spiders Protecting Super-Combs Placing super-combs outside and allowing spiders to care for them (page 296) has worked finely this year. At the north yard, just referred to, w.; have had over 100 full-depth supers not needed, piled out all summer and not a moth in them, although many can be seen flying around in the evening. At home I had a pile in the apiary simi- larly situated. Have just been looking them over and found a few cells with the tell-tale veil over them. It is too late for any damagenow in our locality. At the bottom of the piles of combs hundreds of wings of moths were found — all that was left of them by the few spiders in evidence. ^-•-» Willow Herb in Ontario Have you ever noticed that what at the time may seem a great hardship, will eventually turn out to be " a bless- ing in disguise ?" Last year during the great dearth that we had at the yard 100 miles north, forest fires came uncomfortably near our large apiary and burned over quite a tract ot bush and second growth stuff. At the time we thought the few bass- woods that were biirnedand theamount of white clover that was killed in the more open places, augured none too well for next year's prospects. While I had often heard of willow herb from our northern Michigan friends, I never once thought that we would ever know much about the plant here in Ontario. But about Aug. 10 honey began to come in, and we soon found the bulk of it was coming from the beautiful pink October, 1914. )i^American Hee Jonrnal blossoms of the willow herb that had come up where the fires had been last year. Much rain and very cool weather during the latter part of August and the first part of September cut the surplus short to what it would have been, but even at the present (Sept. Hi) honey is still coming in. For the past four days we have had summer condi- tions again. We have just finished the extracting there (my father and son are at the yard), and the bees are plugging up the brood-nests in good shape. I spent three day^ there last week. It was fine to see the bees dropping in the grass in front of the hives at this late date, after a season at home of almost total failure. The willow herb is not a stayer, as two years is usually all it lasts. Then raspberries and other shrubbery crowd it out. Surely, nearly all of us could do at least a little of this and profit thereby. Bee-Keeping In Dixie^ Conducied by J, J Wilder. Cordele. Ga. In Trouble Mr. Wilder: — I have recently bought some 10-frame hives, and find that my old covers are too small for them. The metal roof and Colorado cover are long enough, but lack about fs-inch being wide enough. What can I do with these ? H. F. Winter. Tampa, Fla. . I believe the 10 frame hive has been made some larger recently in order to admit better manipulation of frames. This was a good change, even if it did come at a late time, for the regular 10- frame hive was not wide enough for 10 frames, and allow sufficient space for the easy and quick handling of the frames. I would suggest that you use the old covers on the old hives until they give out, and the new ones on the new hives. It will not be a great task to keep them in use, for it is not often necessary to change covers, and if there should be a general mix up you can easily tell the old ones from the new. You might be able to pry the rim of the covers apart, just a little on both sides, so they would be wide enough to easily come down over the hive, and if the top edge of the rim should extend a little beyond the top they could be dressed even. ' — •^-•-^ The Panic The European war has brought a money panic which, no doubt, is felt by most beekeepers in the selling of honey and collecting for same. I, for one, am away behind from what I was this time last season. Business is fast slacking up and the question is, " What shall we do ?" Of course, we must dis- pose of our unsold honey crop, and must not let it go at a sacrifice, but at least realize for it what we set out to at the first of the season. To do this, we must not rush it off, but place it in the hands of parties whom we know. Keep it closer at home, and if necessary put forth great eilorts to dispose of a lot of it yourself. This is a critical time, and we should exert ourselves in every way possible to dispose of even a little for cash ; in other words, help to sell it. For these parties, whom we may trust to sell it at whatever they can get, may use the panic as a lever in more than one way to wrong the beekeepers. I was in a large city the other day and went down on "commission row " and saw honey in nearly every house, and a far greater stock than they should carry. I did not have any honey there, and did not expect to place any in their hands, but I made enquiry as to sales, prices, etc., and was well in- formed. The prices they made me were about as usual, but I overheard a a talk between the proprietor and the bookkeeper in one of these houses, and know they were hiding behind this panic when it came to making re- mittances, etc. I knew where all the honey trusted in their care came from, and I left sadly impressed. I know one beekeeper who did not ship his honey this year, but took it to neighboring towns and peddled it out, using an automobile in order to cover the field farther and more quickly. It was all sold to consumers direct, and he got the cash and his prices for it. Caucasian Bees Mr Wilder:— I see that you have much to say about Caucasian bees and advocate them highly. I have several colonies of them which are getting crossed with Italians. I find them wonderful honey gatherers. I judge from your location and experience with them that you could do a great queen business by breeding this race of bees as soon as the beekeeping world learned their value. I have them in one yard with most every other kind I could get, and they and their crosses are by far the best. I have one crossed with the Cyprians, which is making a record this season, and the dash of Caucasian blood seems to knock out much of the bad temper in them. From past experience I believe that by selecting some of the best Cauca- sian queens and some of the brightest colored drones of the Cyprians, a strain of bees could be established that in appearance would be much like the 3-banded Italians but far better. G. C. Rahn, Jlfg-r. Rahn flee and Ilonev Co. Haileyburg, Ont. If reports are true, the Caucasian bees are fast gaining ground every- where, and in my opinion they will soon fully come to their own in true value. A Suggestion I have decided not to spread my bee- business for another season, but shall apply the emergency brakes, for I have been going at a rapid rate for several seasons. Money, no doubt, will be scarce, and now is the time to call a halt. I shall buy no supplies except what I will have to have for the honey Portion of a Mountaineer's "Ideal" Apiary and Honey House in the Blue Ridge October, 1914.' American Hee Journal crop, and this will not take a great amount of capital. But, on the other hand, I am going to plan to increase the next season's crop of honey, and I am now working to that end in every way I can. One of myapiarists, when he finished taking otT, packing and shipping his crop of honey, wrote me after taking a few days' vacation, that he thought of taking up a small job until it was time to put the bees up for winter. 1 wrote him at once, " The p^ nic is on us, and the times will be hard before you are aware of it. Keep right on with your apiary work. Stand by the bees, and they will in time stand by you for I have tried it. Your little job will soon be finished, and in the meantime your bees will suffer for want of attention. Go to the bees." Some time afterwards he wrote me that he was requeening nearly all his bees with the best stock, and expected to put them up for win- tering in better shape than he ever had. Our other apiarists will fall in line with him as soon as they can, and no stones will be leltunturned towards this end. I have written this as a suggestion to other beekeepers, big or small. A Portion of One of tlie Writer's Apiaries Where 100 Percent of tncrease Was Made this Season It will be remembered that I made considerable over 1000 colonies in- crease this season. The picture here shown was a portion of my O'Brien yard where 100 percent increase was made. These hives are of my own manufacture, and are made of cypress lumber throughout, including frames. They are unpainted. I have found this to be by far the most economical ma- terial I can get for hives. More About Cypress Lumber for Bee- Hives — Cypress Defies Decay "There are numerous cases of undis- puted facts where cypress wood has withstood the test of time for 100 years with little or no repairs. Cypress re- sists decay longer than any other wood, does not warp or shrink, because it contains no rosin, and is adapted to the best uses of paint. It is the best wood known for out-of-door uses, and is preferable for interior work. It is no more costly than other woods, and is many times more durable." I can endorse the above statement from my own experience, and as a lumberman for nearly .30 years, I had something to say some time ago, and responses came from a number of bee- keepers, stating that this material had given them better satisfaction than white pine. Also, nearly all the bee- supply manufacturers responded, stat- ing that they had had some experience in working this kind of material into hives and hive parts, and it worked and finished up well, and they were going to use this material more extensively in the future. I have tried it to a finish along by the side of white pine, and it has given far greater satisfaction. Part of Wii.der's "O'Brien" Ai-iary Conducted by Wesley Foster. Boulder. Colo. European Foulbrood in Colorado We have been on the lookout for European foulbrood for some time, hoping that it might be kept out en- tirely when it is in the States to the east and west of us. Dr. Phillips has encouraged us with the opinion that it might not visit Colorado because we have no black bees. But European foulbrood has broken out near Paonia in Delta county on the western slope in Colorado. So far as known the disease is lim- ited to a district not over three miles in diameter, and the total number of colonies within the area is about 2.50. We will do what we can to stamp it out so that it will not spread farther. Beekeepers are urged to read up and talk with any one who is familiar with this disease, so that if it visits their apiaries they will find it out at the first outbreak. I would especially urge bee- keepers in Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties to be on the lookout. The charactertistics that . I first no- ticed were that the larv;e are affected earlier than is the case with American foulbrood. A good fresh case of Euro- pean foulbrood will give a sour odor if you get your nose close to the comb, and it may make you feel just a little sick at the stomach if a good inhala- tion is taken. The description in the United States Department of Agricul- ture Bulletin, "The Treatment of Bee Diseases," No. 4!2, if carefully studied, will lead one to make a correct diagno- sis. Weak and queenless colonies should be especially watched this fall. Strong colonies that were examined early in September in the affected api- aries in no case showed signs of the disease. The Honey Market We cannot foresee what the market will be this winter on honey, but comb is in good demand, and the probabili- ties are that the markets will be about bare by the time spring opens. The price on comb honey tends to rise, and the beekeepers should not be in too big a hurry this year to dispose of their crop. About the only concern that n ^ed be felt is to get the honey in comb disposed of before granulation sets in. In this part of the country we can tell pretty well what honey will show early signs of granulation and what will " stand up " a good long time. Honey as Hog Feed A western beekeeper has reported honey as a great fattener for hogs. It is this way : This party had about 50 hives of foulbrood that had to be ren- dered. The foulbrood had materially lessened the honey crop so that there was not much money to buy feed for the growing pigs. .\ few combs were thrown to the pigs, and they went for it with such a relish that it was made a regular diet in the evening so the bees would not be attracted. The pigs cleaned the honey up so well that by October, 1914. American l^ee Journal )^^^^ii the next morning there was nothing left for the bees to work on. The frames were gathered up and burned. The way those pigs put on fat was a delight to the owner. I do not know whether this would ligure out as a profitable venture, but it saved a dis- agreeable job of melting combs and honey. [We should be very much afraid of a few drops being left on the ground. This might be covered up with dry earth. — Editor. | Notes From ^ Abroad Bv C. P Dadant, It was on Aug. 28, 1!)I3, that we reached Meiringen, going south, and we had promised to be in Nyon, at the home of Mr. Bertrand, on the 30th. So we had two days to visit some of the most wonderful beauties of beautiful Switzerland. I have spoken of the gorge of the Corner as far beneath the Aare gorge in grandeur. It was at Meiringen that we visited the latter. Imagine a tor- rent rushing in a fissure several hun- dred feet deep and so narrow that one can often touch both walls with the hands, while walking on a board shelf, hung over the precipice. Where the gorge is too narrow a tunnel has been built to get from one part of if to an- other. This gorge is over a mile in length. During the entire time you can only see a little strip of the sky be- tween the abrupt stone walls on either side. All this is lighted at night with electricity, and must look still more fearful then. Aiter walking along until you think you must have almost reached the glacier from which this stream emerges, you see the gorge open and a pretty village, Innertkirchen, shows itself in the distance. It is everywhere thus in Switzerland. As you scale impossible heights you imagiie yourself beyond the inhabited world, and suddenly find automobile roads, villages and fashion- able hotels. It is only when the snow is reached that there is nothing but huts to be found beyond. We saw this the next day, climbing the heights of the Little Scheidegg to the "Jung- frau." It was a warm day, and ava- lanches were sending their thundering e.xplosions down to us every minute, though we could see nothing of them. We had passed through the Lake of Brienz to reach Interlaken. We later went down the Lake of Thoun to con- tinue southward. The villages by the lakeside are pictures of beauty. The brown houses, red roofs nnd green hills behind them, with the dark mountain above, and still higher the white peaks, make pictures that one would like to carry away. On the 2!lth, we left Interlaken early, We had breakfast at Berne, lunch at Lausanne, and dined at the Bertrand home at Nyon. Our old friend had in- formed us by letter that he had ex- tended an invi'ation to half a dozen leading beekeepers to take tea with us at his home the next day, which was Sunday. But he had not told us that he also expected the arrival of Mr. Thos. W. Cowan, the editor of the British Bee Journal, for the sa re day Mr. Cowan, who often spends the sum- mer in Switzerland, had accepted the invitation to meet with us, and arrived from London, punctually at 9 a.m., the next day. The trip from London re- quires a little less than 24 hours. The r.-ader may imagine how glad we were to meet him, and how proud we felt that he had selected this date for his visit, sijice it looked as if our presence might have had some influence on his determination. It was a great day for us. The chalet is in one of the prettiest spots along Lake Geneva, and in full view of Mont Blanc. Our hosts had just come home from the mountain village mentioned in the May number, Gryon, where they spend the hot months (if anything can be called "hot" in Switzerland). The flowerbeds were all aglow, the pond lilies in full bloom, and the walks freshly raked. The company was good, and we giv » a picture of the little party. Of course we talked bees. Mr. Cowan, lik Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand, speaks French or English at your pleasure, and you cannot show him a flower < f which he is unable to tell the scientific name. Most of our readers have heard of his three leading works on bees: "The British Beekeeper's Guide Book," a practical work; "The Honey Bee," an exhaustive treatise on the anatomy and natural history of the bee; and "Wax Craft," a thorough work on beeswax, its uses and its adulterations. Some of his books have had the bono of eight translations. Mr. Cowan gave me some valuable information concerning the Caucasian bee, and the reason why some bees of this race a ipear as if they were mixed with Italians. He had made enquiries and received the following information fiom Mr. Gorbotcheff, an official of the sericultural station of Caucasus at Tiflis : "The bees of Erivan (Trans- caucasia south of Tiflis) are distin- guished by their bright yellow-orange c lor, but the typical bee of the Cau- casus mountains is of a dull gray color. The bees of north Caucasus are a mix- ture of the gray with the bees of Per- sia, which are also of bright color. The bee of Persia is a typical bee of the South, and in Caucasus is known under the name of ' bee of Lencoran.' Some beekeepers of Russia and Europe make the mistake of calling these bees 'Caucasians.' They are lazy, wicked, and great robbers. The production of queens of this specie is not large. " On the contrary, the pure bees of the mountains of Caucasus are gentle, splendid workers, and their queens are great layers." So when we rear Caucasian bees, if we want them pure, we must insist on the " dull gray color." Had our time been unlimited, and the way to the Caucasus unhampered by the Balkan war then raging. I should have liked to make an excursion to that country, for everybody who has tried the Cau- casians praises them. But in our four months of vacation we could only fol- low a narrow little path through Fi ance, Switzerland an i Italy. We still had the entire Italian trip before us, and had to refuse som; very kind invita- tions from half a dozen beekeepers of Great Britain, including a hearty one from Mr. Cowan, who readily e.xcused us. He understood that if we went through Great Britain, we must be pre- pared to spend a month or so there, and it was out of the question. It will be for some future date. Mr. Forestier, a noted entomologist present (the fourth gentleman from the left, standing, page 31.5), told me that he had often dissected bees that had died of the May disease, and •LeChai.et" of, Mr. Bertrand 344 October, 1914. American Vae Journal found no nosema in them. Mr. \\ hite had reported the same from sample bees sent to him by me. Yet, was it not in the May disease that the German scientists first found the nosema ? T is parasite was also reported as found in the Isle-cf-Wight disease. We have much to learn still. Mr. Cowan thought that the nosema was difficult to detect in dead bees. He was inclined to be- lieve that it caused both the Isle-of- Wight disease and the May disease or paralysi , as it is called in America. The i formation already received by me that the Italian mi.xed with the Swiss bees, or the Swiss-bred Italians, are the best for that climate, was con- firmed by nearly every man present, and they are all leading beekeepers. Messrs. Bertrand, Odier, Warnery, Gautier, Bignens, Paintard and Fores- tier were unanimous on this point. In our own country how do northern- bred Italians compare with the south- ern bred ? Have any of our beekeepers made any comparative experiments ? On the followi'g day we had the surprise of a visit from our Lyon friend, Mr. Vibert, who was spending his vacation on tlie south shore of the lake. He knew we were to be there about that time and came, relying on the kind hospitality of Mr. Bertrand, to spend a few hours with us again. An hour after his arrival, a stranger came, and was announced as Mr. Ivan Louis Melikov, a bacteriologist at the Pasteur Institute of Paris. The bee association of Haute Savoie had asked for help in th • study of the bacillus of foulbrood. This gentleman had come to them and had at once been directed to Mr. Bertrand for information. Our readers know of the long experience our friend has Iiad with foulbrood. He had it in his own apiary, fought it with drugs and finally vanquished it. He translated F. C. Harrison's study of foulbrood, ind wrote another study on it himself. Mr. Cowan, who was there, is also an authority on diseases. Mr. Melikov was evidently well posted on our host's reputation, for he paid him the neat compliment of saying that he was "the most celebrated authority on bees in the entire world." The com- pliment was fully deserved, though Mr. Bertrand modestly declined it. Mr. Vibert called our attention to the number of nationalities gathered together in this little party. Mr. Meli- kov is of Russian nationality, so we had Russia, England. Switzerland, France and America represented. We enjoyed the day, and Mr. Melikov invited me to call on him at the Pasteur Institute on my return to Paris. He was in hopes of being able to prepare some studies of foulbrood in the meantime. Mr. Cowan said that, in his opinion, there are climatic differences between sam- ples of the bacilli of I^urope and America, and suggested that bacillus brandenbourgensis, bacillus burri and bacillus laivs of White were perhaps identical. The following morning I went down into the little park early and found Mr. Bertrand there i'l a mournful mood. We were to leave them that morning for the Italian trip. He said: "This is a melancholy morning for me, for I don't know whether I will ever see you again. Your father was one of my best friends, and I re-read some of his let- ters often. Yet I have never met him. Our friendship grew through corres- pondence." It was a sad parting on both sides. We were glad that Mr. Cowan expected to remain a few days, as it made it less lonely for our old friends. We took the train at 10 o'clock for Bellinzona and Milan. This was the last episode of our month in Switzerland. It had been a happy month. Contributed Articles^ Honey as a Remedy BY H. SPUHLER. MR. CREPIEUX - JAMIN, treating this subject in an article on page 58 of the February number of the Bee Journal, comes to the conclusion that " honey is a first-class food, but a medicine of low value." In view of this discredit of honey as a remedy, I take the liberty of supporting the op- posite view, based mainly upon my ex- periments made while retailing honey. Mr. Crepieux-Jamin is a physician of the bacteriological school which main- tains that a great number of diseases are caused by microbes, and that each disease requires special remedies. On the other side are found doctors who claim that the microbes are not the original cause, but secondary phenom- ena, and that the true cause is the weakening of the organism and the lack of " force of resistance"; that in The Castle of Nyon view of this, instead of using remedies we must strengthen the organs and procure to them the best sanitary con- ditions. As principal factors upon which our health depends are food, air, light, water, action and rest. These represent also the most efficacious means of re-establishing health. There are in Europe, especially in Germany in Austria and in Switzerland, a large number of physicians who, with great success, treat all diseases without medi- cines other than these natural factors, especially food diet and water — cold, warm, and in the shape of steam. There are a number of establishments run according to these principles and succeeding finely. It is well recognized that a large number of diseases are caused by bad methods of nourishment, and it is of importance for sick people to be ac- quainted with a first-class aliment dis- tinguished by its digestibility, strength- ening the organism and presenting for that reason an important remedy. Honey is perhaps the oldest remedy known; it has been approved for cen- turies, and it will probably be used for the benefit of the sick when many of the present remedies will have long been forgotten forever. The follow- ing data refer to a few cures that I have observed myself and prove its efficacy : Cure of anemia. An 8-year-old girl suffered so seriously of this disease that she was confined to her bed. A long medical treatment had no success and the parents were in despair. At last the patient was treated by a diet of honey dissolved in milk. After a few weeks she was enough stronger to be able to accompany her mother when she came to my house to purchase the honey. At the end of two months she was able to return to school. A girl of 20, employed in a spinning- mill, was losing her strength from day to day. Fearing serious sickness, she applied for membership in a mutual in- surance against disease, but owing to her condition of health, she was re- fused admission. The trouble in- October, 1914- American Hee Journal The Gentleman and Lady at the Rtght Were Our Hosts. Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand. On the E.xtreme Left Sitting is Mr. Thos. W. Cowan. Senior Editor of the British Bee Journal creased; she had to seek the help of physicians, and was linaliy compelled to enter a hospital, where she hoped to be cured. She was advised to try a honey cure. She did so, and was soon able to resume her work. She was even accepted as member of the assur- ance company to which she had form- erly applied and had been refused. Stomach complaints. A woman of 60 had grievous stomach pains which became at times intolerable, and no medicines could allay them. She had recourse to honey which brought her almost instantaneous relief in the worst crisis. Asthma. An asthmatic lady neighbor, regularly buying honey from me, often declared that this was the only thing which brought her any relief. Pulmonary affections. A man of 40, keeping an inn, was suffering from lung trouble. He consulted without relief all the neighboring doctors, and later, professors and specialists of the capital. He finally spent some time in an establishment where this disease is treated with water and dieting, but all was in vain. The disease was increas- ing. One day he met a man who ad- vised him to try a honey cure, assert- ing that such a treatment had saved him from similar conditions. He fol- lowed the advice and was cured in a few months, taking three times per day a spoonful of honey dissolved in milk. He died two years ago at the age of 70. Rheumatism. I know of a number of cases where men were cured of rheumatism by keeping bees and eat- ing honey. The above cases prove that honey is not only a healthy food but a valuable remedy. This is recognized and ac- knowledged by physicians. One of these said to me: "Honey has never failed to help in chidren diseases." Another physician of renown who possesses an establishment for chil- dren uses honey on a large scale, and has given the following beautiful statement: "Honey is not only a useful human remedy, it is also useful in veterinary practice. The country people often use it for this purpose. and one of my friends who is a capable veterinarian, has largely used it in his profession. If, as I have shown, honey possesses excellent alimentary and salutary quali- ties, it is the duty of the beekeepers to emphasize this fact by disseminating it and increasing the demand of honey, ambrosia of which Solomon said : "Eat thou honey, my son, for it is good."l Zurich, Switzerland. Coumai'in and the Principle" Bitter BY \. F. BONNEY. IT has been some months since I be- gan investigation of the so-called bitter principle of sweet clover, led to do so by finding that Mr. Westgate, Agronomist in charge of Clover Inves- tigations, with headquarters in Wash- ington. D. C, had changed his mind about wanting sweet clover without the bitter taste. He had, with others, theorized that a tasteless sweet clover would take the place of the other tre- foils, as alfalfa and white clover for pasture and hay. However, it was next theorized that the "bitter principle" was an element which prevented the sweet clover from causing " bloat " in cattle, said disorder being acute fer- mentive indigestion, with no other evidence than that cattle which ate the sweet clovei did not have the bloat. They did not stop to think that not all animals which eat of white clover do bloat, and that probably 100,000 critters eat white clover where one consumes sweet clover. In other words, we do not knozc that sweet clover will not bloat cattle; therefore, we cannot know that it is the bitter principle of sweet clover which prevents indigestion. Why is it not the coumarin itself ? It is more abundant. Mr. Westgate took the first opportu- nity to have an analysis made of some sweet clovers, and sent me some very small samples. I could not analyze such small masses, so sent them to my friend, Mr. Francis, chemist for Park, Davis & Co., probably the largest chemical and biological establishment in the world. His letter attached shows that he was in the same quandary as myself. Unfortunately, he does not seem to promise an analysis of a bale of the sweet clover hay, and students will have to be satisfied with the light I have so far been enabled to throw on the subject. In the meantime, the farmers all over the United States are losing their ha- tred of sweetclover,and Ihavenot been threatened with arrest for some four years in connection with the fragrant weed. The attached letters will tell the rest of the story. Buck Grove. Iowa. Dr, a. F. Bonney. Buck Grove. Iowa.— /h;:r Si,-:-l have had extracts made of coumarin from both Mclilotiu a/l',7 and .1/ officiiialn. and am sending the same under separate cover. '1 he crystals certainly taste like the bitter principle inthe Mel i lotus. and I have no reason now to think that these crystals are other than the coumarin The green plants were distilled by steam, and the resulting distillate was extracted with ether, and the solution allowed to evaporate. The crystals from -I/f///,'^//j<;/ii,; appearing gave the bitter taste of coumarin. and showed a melting point of 67 degrees which is exactly what coumarin crystals should show. The Meliiotus nlhiiiialis crystals gave a melting point 3 degrees lower than this owing apparently to the presence of a vola- tile oil. There is also in Melilotus a pres- ence called Melilotic acid. This has an astringent flavor, and probably combines with the coumarin to give the distinctive taste to Melilotus. J. M. Westgate. Asrimamift in charec of C/orer Investieations. Dr. a. F. Bonnev. Buck Grove, Iowa Mv Dear Dr. Bonnev .—Your letter concern- ing coumarin. with theattached report from Mr. Westgate. of the Department of Agri- culture, was received several weeks ago. as were the small samples of crystalline sub- stances extracted from the Melilotus. Upon reading your letter I hoped that the samples of crystals extracted from the two plants might be sufficiently larue in quantity to permit of careful purification in our own laboratory, which would enable us to deter- mine its constitution, melting points, etc. As you know, however, any woi k along the line of purification was absolutely hopeless, as there was the very smallest quantity of material available, and I assume that this lack of material is one reason why Mr. Westgate could not prosecute his investiga- tion to more definite results. Now there is no doubt that coumarin is a prominent and important ingredient in both species of sweet clover: moreover, there is no doubt in my mind but that the presence of this substance in the plant, and conse- quently in the bloom, is responsible in a large measure for the peculiar and exceed- ingly pleasant flavor of the sweet clover honey. Mr. Westgate is in error in assuming that coumarin is bitter. The substance in an absolutely pure form chemically is very easily obtainable, and exists in the form of white crystals, which have the peculiar odor and taste characteristic of coumarin. and in its concentrated form also has a pep- pery taste in the mouth. If the substance is pure, however, there is not the slightest suggestion of tilterness. As regards this important matter which you have brought up. namely, that one spe- cies of sweet clover differs from the other, no light is given us by this report nor by the examination of these minute samples. It is true that one of the samples of crystals does have a decidedly bitterish taste, whereas the other does not. but the samples were so small and impure that this was not an evi- dence that the coumarin extracted from the sample of sweet clover contained none of the characteristic bitter substances of the plant, whereas both the coumarin and the bitter were extracted from the second plant What this bitter substance is can only be determined by a careful chemical analysis of a large Quantity of the drug. Myexperi- October, 1914, American Hee Jonrnal Mr. E. Bertrand ence has shown that it will be necessary to start with a bale of the dry sweet clover, and one would probably have to exiractas much as 300 or 400 pounds of the "clover hay.' With this amount of material it could be extracted with ether or some similar sol- vent, and then by well-known methods of analysis the coumarin could be separated in pure form, and the identity of the bitter substance miiiht also at the same time be determined. There is absolutely no use in attemptins; to solve this problem with a small quantity of drug f^ARKE, Davis & Company. J. M. Francis. Shipping Comb Honey by Ex- press BY C. T. OHLINGER. AFTER several years of experiment- ing with different kinds of pack- ages, such as glass shipping cases, corrugated paper boxes, tin boxes, as containers for comb honey to go by express, I learned that a little decep- tion will insure safe arrival of the fragile article'. Since the days of the parcel post, the rush of business of our (/toi- express companies is over. Yet one is not sure of what will become of a package of comb honey entrusted to the tender mercies of the notorious rough handlers in the employ of the express companies. It is a well-known fact that no at- tention is paid to such notices as " Comb Honey," " Handle with Care," "Fragile," "This Side Up," etc. The side that is to go up is sure to go down. When goods arrive in bad order you may put in a claim for damages and wait until the claim is adjusted. There is one package, however, which con- jures up thoughts of careful handling in the minds of express and baggage men, /. e., an e/^^' crate. I have been using them several seasons for ship- ping comb honey by express to custo- mers who want from 25 to 50 sections at a time. I pack 48 4<5 sections in a crate, 24 oil each side of the partition. There will be two rows of 8 sections on the bottom — the sections standing length- wise with the crate — and one row of 8 on top next to the partition board. This brings the weight to the center of the crate. The weight of the whole crate will be about the same as that of a full crate of eggs. The empty space is filled out with newspapers to pre- vent the sections from shifting. I pur- posely omit the marks " Comb Honey " on the box. The agent is told that I am shipping comb honey in order to get the proper receipt. But the men who handle the crate in transit get the idea that they are handling eggs, and everything goes well. Sometimes I fill an order for eggs and comb honey. Both go into the same bo.x as a mixed shipment. The egg crate has solved the problem of getting small shipments of comb honey to private parties safely and quickly. Angelica, N. Y. Honey and Biology BY 1. A. HEBERLE, B. S. (Bascil on a lecture of Dr. Thocni. fubhsliid in the Sstr/nv. Bienenzeitunj;) (continued from page 315.) IT was Prof. Langer, of Graz, who first proved that the diastase fer- ment in honey, which w' know changes starch into dextrin is secreted by the honey bee. This has been pr ven by the serological method of diffi^rentiating albumen, of which more will be said. Auzinger was the first to experiment with solutions of honey to d'-termine the power of the f.erments. Hi' used th ; same method that Koning used to determine the diastase in milk. The method is as follows: Take 10 c. c. of honey solution 1 :2, add 1 c. c. of a solu- tion of starch, strength 1 percent, leave one hour in the water bath at a tem- perature of 45 degrees C. If the honey solution contains diastase, all the stirchwill be changed to sugar. To test this add 1 c. c. of a solution of potassium iodide, shake well and notice the color. If all the starch has been changed, the color will be but little darker than t 'e solution taken for the experiment; if no starch has been changed, the color will be a deep black blue. The results obtained with this method tested by various institutions, may b; summarized as follows: Most of the samples of genuine extracted honey, when used in quantities mentioned, gave colors from a bright olive green to a light brown. Boiled honey solutions showed a deep blue to a black-blue col r because they contained no active ferments. Heated honeys show the following col- ors according to the elevation of the temp rature and the time of ex|iosure : Red-br .wn, brown-olive, bright blue- green, blue-green, deep blue. Artificial honeys show uniformly a deep black- blue because they contain no ferments. According to the experiments of Leu- enberger, on the influence of heat on honey, in regard to the diastase reac- tion, only temperatures above 90 de- grees C. caused a darkercolorthan that of the same honey not heated. Besides the ferments, there is a specific albu- men present in honey. Its presence is also proven by a biological method. the QUANTITATIVE PRECIPITATE REACTION. Prof. Langer has also laid the foun- dation to this method. It has been said that the ferments are bound to the albumen molecules, which really means they are a part of the albumen. To obtain the ferments from any solution, re [gents that precipitat albu . en, as alcohol, ammonium sulphate, etc., are used. Such a precipitate contains, be- sides the ferments, all the albuminous bodies. He found thai the albumen in the honey is of animal origin — that it is from the bee. To prove this he used the serological method called the "pre- cipitate reaction." Since this is one of the most important biological meth- ods, a short explanation might interest the readers. If a solution from the albumen of a hen's e g be injected a few times in a rabbit, there will be formed, in the blood of this rabbit, a substance called the " precipitate." If blood from this rabbit is taken, and the red corpuscles separated, an almost clear solution^ the serum — is obtained. This serum, through the injection, has acquired the singular property of giving a precipi- tate with a solut on of albumen from a hen's e.tg, but not with any other albu- me I, not even with the albumen from a duck or goose egg. A precipitate with the serum is only obtained w en the albuminous solution is from the same source as the solution used for the in- jection. With this method it is easy to recognize human blood from that of animals, or blood of the ox from that of the horse, etc. October, 1914. 347 American ^gc Jonrnal J In order to determine the source of albumen in honey, Prof. Langer in- jected in a rabbit a solution of albumen from honey. The honey-albumen serum gave a precipitate not only with a solu- tion of albumen from honey, but also with watery extracts of bee heads, the larvie and the food (chime? chile?) with which the bees feed the young brood. The same results were ob- tained when, instead of a solution of honey albumen, the watery extracts from bee heads were used for the in- jection. Not fully satisfied with this, Prof. Langer made watery extracts from flowers and seeds of plants from which the bees gather pollen and nec- tar. With these extracts he could in no instance obtain a precipitate with serum of honey albumen or bee-heads extract. Finally he used water ex- tracts of triturated pollen for injection ; the serum obtained gave a precipitate with pollen extracts, but not with honey albumen, etc. Thus it was proven that honey contains albumen which is secret d by the bees, and while trans- forming nectar into honey is incor- porated or mixed with it. It was found that the proportion of albumen in honey \aries comparatively little, and, further, that the " precipi- tate reaction," when the right amount and the right concentration are used, gives results that may quantitatively be useful. The honey albumen serums are not all equal ; therefore, in each analysis a genuine honey has to be tested with the other samples, as a check. To obtain the serum, the use of queen-cell contents has been found the most convenient. In making the test, honey solutions are prepared of 10 percent, 2 per- cent, and 1 percent strength; 1 c. c. of each is used. For the 10 percent solu- tion, 0 ..'i c. c. ; for the 2 percent solution, 0.2, and for the 1 percent solution, 0.2 c. c. of the serum is used and a drop of toluol is added to each sample to check bacterial growth. After a thor- ough shaking, the samples are allowed to stand five hours at a temperature of 35 degrees C. At the expiration of that time the reaction is considered complete. Specially constructed glass tubes, narrow at the bottom and grad- uated, are used. The samples are for five minutes rotated in a centrifugal apparatus, so the precipi ate will col- lect at the bottom in uniform density, and the quantum is measured or read off. The results so far obtained show that honey from the forest, from a fir tree, has a little less albumen than that from the nectar of flowers. Probably honey- dew will do the same. Sugar fed to bees and extracted showed about one-half as much albu- men as honey. This the beekeepers should bear in mind. Sugar has no albumen; it is the bees who supply that, which, no doubt, is detrimental to the bees when feeding large quantities of sugar. It may also be pointed, here, that honey is more than a mere sweet. It can be assimilated without further work on the digestive organs. Sugar must first be inverted. In addition it contains a great variety of other sub- stances, ethereal oils, albumen, etc., while sugar is a pure hydrocarbon, a nutriment, but not as wholesome (?), salubrious (?) as honey. Kempten, Bavaria, Germany. Beekeepers I "W.S. Have Known— Pangburn" BY FRANK C. rF.l.LKTT. THERE are beekeeping farmers and again there are farming beekeep- ers. Shelly Pangburn belongs to the latter class. Although he farms on quite an extensive scale, his bees are not neglected, and beekeeping is not with him a side line. Until a few years ago friend Pang- burn was a painter by trade, but laying aside his brushes he moved to th& country and bought a farm overlook- ing the town of Center Junction, Iowa. Being a great hustler and a good man- ager he has prospered from the first, and now finds himself in very com- fortable circumstances. His is one of the neatest apiaries in Iowa, and he has every facility for lightening the labor of caring for his honey crop. The honey house is composed of three large rooms. In one end is the work shop for assembling hives and supplies, and in the other end the e.xtracting room. The center room is used for the engine and also contains the cream separator, for the Pangburns also have a fine dairy herd. There is a power machine also, which robs wash day of its terrors for the women of the house- hold. Mr. Pangburn has hit on the best plan of liquefying candied honey that I have seen for the average beekeeper's use. He bought a feed cooker from one of the catalog houses for $11 that ju't fills the bill. The tank is the right size for eight GO-pound cans. He has made a wooden crate, as shown in the photograph, which lifts the cans about 4 inches from the bottom of the tank. He puts 3 or 4 inches of water in the bottom of the tank, but not enough to come up around the cans. The cover is shut down and the honey heated by steam instead of hot water. A small hole in the top allows a ther- mometer to be seen at any time, and in case the heat arises too high it can be lowered instantly by raising t :e cover and allowing the steam to escape. The photograph shows the outfit as it stands in the honey house. Very lit- tle fuel is required, and as much honey can be melted at one time as the ordi- nary beekeeper will have occasion to use. It seems to me that our supply dealers might look into this proposi- tion and offer this outfit in their cata- logs. The Pangburn home is one of cul- ture and refinement with music and good reading matter much in evidence. Mrs. Pangburn has a little the best of the family division, for there are three attractive daughters and only two sons. It sometimes happens, however, in cases like this, that the girls leave the nest sooner than the boys, so it seems to be a fair division after all. The youngest son seems very much inter- ested in the bees, and bids fair to be an unusual help to his father in the apiary. He shows a knowledge of beekeeping rare in children much older than he. Any live beekeeper will enjoy a visit to the Pangburn apiary. Atlantic, Iowa. Methods of Queen Introduction BY J. E. H.\ND. THE successful introduction of alien queens has been a problem for the amateur and the professional, as well as for the novice and the expert throughout the beekeeping world. Ex- perimenters have discovered that while there are seasons and conditions when alien queens may be given to queen- less bees direct, with impunity, some method of introduction is imperative The Pangburn Home at Center Junction, Iowa S48 October, 1914. American Hee Journal W. S. Pangburn and His Se\ en YearOi.d Son in the Apiary to prepare alien queens for a safe re- ception by a queenless colony. The knowledge that the acts of bees within the hive are guided chiefly by the sense of smell, has led to the almost universal opinion that odor is the basic principle in queen introduction. The theory is that each colony has its peculiar odor by which individual members are rec- ognized and distinguished from indi- viduals of other colonies. THE TRANSMISSION OF ODOR. This theory induced experimenters to search for some economical method of transmitting the colony odor to queens. This led to the discovery of two methods of odor transmission, the smoke method and the cage method, both of which were described in Doo- little's book on queen-rearing, pub- lished more than a quarter century ago, and both are in vogue at the present time [See pages 75 and 76 of " Doolittle's Queen-Rearing." — Ed.] THE cage METHOD. The cage method is very simple, and yet close observation concerning the attitude and behavior of bees toward a caged queen is essential to success with this method. It consists of sus- pending the cage containing the queen over a space between the combs, ex- Pangburn's Steam Oltfit for Lhjuefying Honey posing the wire-cloth side to the bees, leaving it there until the caged queen shall have acquired the colony odor, after which she will be accepted with- out pai ley. Perfect success is assured by this method only when the queen remains caged until the colony odor is acquired; thousands of queens are sacrificed every season because ignor- ant beekeepers, unmindful of the hos- tile attitude toward the caged queen, allow them to eat out the candy and release her before the odor is trans- mitted; an operation that requires more time with different queens. When friendly relations are estab- lished by the transmission of odor, a radical change takes place, and instead of hostile demonstrations she now re- ceives affectionate caresses, and will be welcomed with eagerness. This change in the attitude of bees toward a caged queen is unerringly manifest to the practiced eye of the student of bee-nature, and he will keep her caged until the change occurs, and will sel- dom lose a queen. Daily examination is necessary. If they are clustered thickly on the cage, biting the wire-cloth, and exhibiting a general attitude of anger and resent- ment, return the cage and repeat the operation daily until the bees cease to take any notice of the intruder ; when this change comes, it is safe to release the queen. We remove most of the candy and allow the bees to do the rest. Approximately 80 percent of queens will be accepted within 48 hours, and the remainder will range from that time up to a week or more; hence 20 percent of the queens are sacrificed by permitting the bees to eat the candy and release them before the colony odor is acquired. If these instructions are rigidly observed, there is little ex- cuse for losing a queen by the cage method, for I doubt if there ever was a queen that could not be successfully introduced by this meth id if sufficient time is allowed for the transmission of odor. smoke method of odor transmission During the past quarter century, va- rious methods have been in vogue by which odor is transmitted through the agency of smoke. Some Iiave accom- plished it by blowing smoke into the entrance, accompanied by diumming on the hives, thus causing the bees to roar in distress and fright; the queen is then run in, followed by a few more puffs of smoke. Others omit the drum- ming, and depend upon smoke exclu- sively, using more of it, and closing the hive for a few minutes; while others have been equally successful in the moderate use of tobacco smoke. This is perhaps the most effective, having an odor so pungent that little is re- quired for the transmission of it. While the basic principle is the same, the two methods are widely different, for in the latter the colony odor is transmitted to the entire contents of the hive, in- cluding the alien queen. The smoke odor is transmitted in live minutes, while several days are sometimes re- quired to transmit the colony odor to a caged queen. There are two important factors in- volved in the smoke method, the rapid unifying of odors within the hive, and October, 1914. American ~Bae Jonrnal Canadians and Americans celebrating July i Holguin. Cuba Mr. Kendall, besides bei colonies boueht July 20. iqr. have given an percent increase.— D. W. Millar. the instantaneous perversion of the sense of smell, resulting from inhaling smoke. Undoubtedly these two factors are directly responsible for the success of the smoke method. The excessive inhalation of smoke, or the assimila- tion of odoriferous vegetables, such as onions, garlic, etc , will render the or- gans of smell and taste unreliable tem- porarily in humans, and why not in bees ? While some have made an attempt to ignore the part that odor performs in the domestic economy of the hive, that element is in the minority, and the consensus of opinion among pro- gressive American beekeepers is that odor transmission is tlie basic princi- ple of successful queen introduction. Birmingham, Ohio. at the Finca of Mr. Rolando Kendall, near ns a fruit grower, is a " bee bug."' Twenty average of over 10 gallons per colony and 100 Ancient Apiculture— Aristotle BY E. M. MACDONALD. WHEN we read over the works of old beekeepers, the wonder is not that they knew so little of bees and their ways, but that they knew so much. Aristotle lived some 2300 years ago, having been born in 384 B. C. in Grecian Turkey. He seems to have been an omnivorous reader and amassed a vast stock of facts gleaned from others and also from the fruits of his own observations. His classification forms the groundwork of later labors. He was the earliest to note and describe the tour membra- nous wings of bees and other insects, he described the various parts of their six legs, and he was the first to accord to the two magic working horns or feelers in front of the head, the name of antennae, "because they hold them forth before." He gives the first and best summary of Greek knowledge of the structure and habits of the bee. and his observa- tions served as a model for subsequent writers, even until a comparatively recent period. Virgil, Pliny and Co- lumella drew largely on his facts and fancies, and even our own classic But- ler had a great admiration for this ancient scientist, for he tells us that Aristotle "discovered more at large about bees than he did on any other living creatures." The generation of bees was a great puzzle to this author as well as to all early bee writers. He says, "All are not agreed about the generation of bees. Some say they collect them from the flowers, others that the rul- ers (the King then, our Queen) pro- duce the young of the bees. By some they are called the mother-bees as if they were the parents of the rest, and they agree that unless the ruler is present, drones only are produced, and no worker-bees. Others affirm that drones are males and bees fe- males." How near the actual truth these ancient beekeepers were! He observed the eggs in the cells, and even noted that at first they lay in an angular position and change later. From this egg proceeded a worm (larva) and he had at least a dim idea of the feeding process after the egg hatched. The egg at first increased by its own powers, contain- ing as it did the material "necessary lor augmentation." Honey is placed beside the larvae for conviently trans- mitting it to the brood-cells, and they breed best when honey is coming in plentifully. He noticed the royal jelly and looked on it as matter for gener- ation as well as for augmentation. Queen cells were observed in hives to the number of six or seven before swarming. He noticed that they were destroyed later, also that supernumer- ary queens were killed off as useless, if not indeed mischievous. Aristotle accorded to bees the or- gans of sight, smell, touch, taste, but had doubts of the sense of hearing, and he held that they cannot sueak. "Insects have neither voice nor speech, but make a sound with the air within t'lem (spiracles), not with that which is external, but they make a sound with the membrane beneath the di- visions of the body." "They can smell from a great distance, and can scent honey or fields of nectar when very far away. Any contamination in the hive is an offence, and they ca/ry out dead bees before they display signs of putrefaction, while they void their ex- crement outside so that it may not contaminate the hive atmosphere. They dislike all offensive smells and the scent of alcoholics and readily sting persons who use such things." He taught his successors a bad lesson in stating that bees were weak in the sense of sight. We moderns must marvel at the statement as this is one of th.T points in which they are most perfect. He was much puzzled if drones are males why they should be in subjec- tion to their females, "because na- ture never gives females the power to defend themselves and destroy the males." Drones, he declares, are use- less— yet because of their presence bees are more industrious and hives, in their absence at the right time, fail to do their best work. "Drones are thieves." Beekepers even at this early date had a species of drone trap or excluder. They narrowed the en- —ll iiifllllllWIItH ii^Ju «. v"-^%*#^'"- -^^ r i ■ •'^■^PiL^>"^ > ' % ^ ,,^^iw»«^ ^jiiiifci Roasting the pig at Mr. Kendall's July i. igij. The animal is drawn and a slick passed through him lengthwise. He is then slowly turned before the fire until done. U is a long job. but " mighty fine doings."— L). W. Millar. 350 American 15^^ Journal October, 1914. trance to keep them out and thus rid the hives of this "useless bee." "Honey falls from the air and gen- erally rone is produced before the rising of the Pleiades" (Pliny calls it the spittal of the stars). This idea lasted long. "Wax," he tells us "is made from the flowers," referring no doubt to the pollen with which it was long confounded. "Bees breed their sweet kind" from the amiable matter found in the flowers. Honey came from the air or aj pearnj as a dew — these wore the ancient beliefs. Our autlKu- (oiiimends the wlufest honey faliov.-i J' that their "dew" and ours differ at least in color. Aristotle believed iu a uivision of labor among the bees much the same as that so poetically described in Shakespeare: "They have a king and officers of sorts, etc." He tells us that in his time bees stung animals as large as horses causing death at times. "When they sting anything they perish for they cannot withdraw their sting from the wound without tearing their own en- trails, but they are frequently saved If the person presses the sting from the wound." The efficacy of the sting as a weapon of offer se and defence was well known and thoroughly appreciat- ed in these early times. Particularly is this brought under our notice when he deals with bees' enemies. Ever since his day the swallow has borne the reproach of being a deadly ene- my; wasps are also blamed for being very destructive, while the toad is accused of blowing in at the entrance *i entice the bees to come out and be eaten. Old writers always pro- duce a long list of deadly enemies of bees, but I am pleased to put on record the fact that man was not one of these at that time in ancient Greece, for he tells us distinctly that their keepers "took what honey they could spare and did not kill them." We learn that they knew how to smoke bees, and also how to brim- stone them even at that early date, but it says much for their skill and humanity to know that they only took the surplus as their share. A warm, dry season, he considered, was the best for honey and a moist one for swarms. Swarms, he consid- ered, were made up mostly of young bees. He mentions the peculiar note of swarming and gives us a graphic picture of the huriy-burly in and out- side the hive while the bees are rush- ing about. He was one of the first to take notice of "ringing" or "tanging" bees and to condemn it. "They ap- pear to have pleasure in noises, so they say that they collect them into their hives by striking vessels and making noises." Ho doubts if bees can hear, and therefore concludes they may collect either from pleasure or from fear, but not on account of the ringing. He does not credit that bees can be generated from the carcasses of dead animals, because they shun everything that is putrid or unclean and love what is clean. The belief in bees as weather prophets is very ancient. Aristotle S^tsr ' ^'-^imBiRH i''. *'^^ir^ W72 m ^^"^ ' ^^-:'^'^%^ ^:^¥ \\ W> ''■■ ' ■ K ^• I'J - - :na !»«■•.«!« ~ , . ' - -' it '*• ;• " *^ .» 1 X w^ -■'r-:r?Jkt^£k:>J^ E|t2.-jlL- iBkfe 9~ v^ii.- '^IflM w • ""^ii^iUilSl^l^l^thmM.-^ ' ' wr ^^1 ■. i ^ ;^^r^gBSH^^^H^HHJe^ >".-^ ' «,. ; -■^|^^^^^H| r " LOMA DK MiEL" Al'lARY AT HOLGUIN, CuBA. The past year, in my particular location, has been the poorest 1 ever saw in Cuba, on account of dry weather, but I averaged a little better than lo gallons of extracted honey per colony, and bees are in tine shape now.— D. W. Millar. says: "Bees discover the approach of cold weather and of rain and tney will not leave the hive even if the day is fine but remain occupied inside; and by this their keepers know that they expect severe weather." Aristotle is the most scientific of ancient beekeepers, he liked to verify even his quotations and he is very guarded in making direct statements; he seems to examine everyone from a scientific standpoint. The beekeep- ing section of his "Natural History" is the best known and the most trust- worthy of ancient works of nature as a whole, and especially on apiculture. It is doubtful if he himself was an active beekeeper. He tells us of sev- eral sources from which he derived his information — Aristomachis of Soli, for instance, who for a period of fifty-eight years did nothing else but study the bees, and also Philiseus who passed his life apart from his fellow men tending his bees, and liv- ing by the fruits of their labors. Banff, Scotland. That Chaff Hive BY J. E. HAND. THAT chaff hive article in the July number of the American Bee Jour- nal, page 210, by Dr. Bonney, calls for some explanation, and possibly some correction, especially his state- ment that I advocated a hive only four inches deep in 1907. I am in- clined to be lenient with him, how- ever, for he evidently does not under- stand that a single division of a sec- tional hive does not constitute a hive, but is only part of a hive, and that an eight frame sectional hive, com- posed of shallow divisions, may be larger than a fixed hive of sixteen frame capacity. It is to be regretted, however, that so much time and space is required to explain a matter that should be apparent to a novice, and doubly so, to one who poses as an authority upon subjects pertaining to the economics of beehive architecture. Evidently his memory needs sharpen- ing, for, in spite of his statement con- cerning our alleged four inch hive, the smallest division of a hive that we ever used was over five Inches deep, and three divisions constituted a reg- ular brood chamber over fifteen inches deep; this is the four (?) inch hive that Dr. Bonney is worrying about, but we cannot see what that hive has to do with the convertiblt method of wintering bees. Again, Dr. Bonney is in error in as- suming that we use eight frame su- pers, for our brood chambers and su- pers are alike and interchangeble, furthermore, his suggested modifica- tion of our convertible hive intro- duces undesirable complications that weaken the protection at critical points, and leave one side of the winter nest unprotected by packing. The sixteen frame hive, with the eight frame inner chamber is an economi- cal solution of the wintering problem, for it is .a single wall hive in summer, and a double wall hive in winter, pro- viding perfect winter protection at half the cost of chaff hives. My opin- ion concerning the status of chaff hives, past, and present, is based on personal experience, and personal ob- servation, covering a period of more than a quarter century. In 1S80 T purchased my first chaff hives for IL.'iO in the flat, they were two story hives, double walled throughout, with a capacity for fourteen frames above, and ten below and were undoubtedly the best wintering hives ever put on the market in this country. Mean- October, 1914. 351 lAmoricanlSec Journai]^^^^^^^^^ 1 time, however, they have been re- and advancing in priec," but I cannot duced to a single story, with half as think of a more appropriate epithet, much material and protection as It is hoped that this explanation formerly, and yet they are sold today will suffice for all who have fallen for p,.2'i in the flat, without any up- into the error of assuming that the per story. Dr. Bonney objects to my sectional hive is a small hive, calling them "tlotoriorating in quality. '^■ririn^ham, Ohio. limbs, llicii loo, my work lakes inc away from liome iK-arly all day, so I would lose 9 out of every len swarms were it not for my traps. As I am somewhat of a carpenter, I make all my own hives. Some may say I can buy them cheaper, but being in the lumber busi- ness I make them at odd times. Not consid- ering my time, they cost me about (10c each. I make mine with glass sides and wooden panels, which is a lot of help, as you can sec their progress without disturbing them and know when they are ready for supers. Of course. I buy my sections as 1 run for section honey exclusively. Mississii)pi. Answers: — I heartily sympathize with you in your struggle against swarming. I've been fighting it for years and am not through yet Cutting out cells does sometimes and some- times not. You can shake swarms, but it is a good deal like letting the bees swarm. Cut- ting out drone comb may help, but will no! stop swarming. If you exchange the old queen for a young one about the time swarm- ing begins, you are safe from swarming till another year. One of the best ways to avoid swarming is to run for extracted honey and use the Demaree plan. Just before swarming lut all the brood but one frame in a second story over an excluder, leaving the queen be- low with one frame of brood and empty combs or frames filled with foundation. Geo. S. Crone in His Apiary at Browning. III. Dr. Miller*s ^ Answers^ Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo. III. He does not answer bee-keeping questions by mail. More Honey Without Swarms— Requeening 1. I started beekeeping last year with a three frame Necleus. This year that colony swarmed three times. I united the second and third swarms. The swarms have each filled over two supers and the old colony has started in the second. Would I have ob- tained more honey if they had not swarmed. 2. How can 1 know if the virgins mated with their brothers, as I think it is possible — as the nearest bees to me are three miles away over a ridge ? 3. Should I renueen the prime swarm: When? 4. How many frames of honey does a colony need to winter outside .'). Are Italians the only bees having three yellow rings on the abdomen ? Should the rings be wide or narrow? 6. What causes the bees to fly out in front of their hive in great excitement for a short time and then return to it without attempting to cluster. Washington. Answers: — 1. Very likely you would have had more honey up to date of your letter if the bees had not swarmed. But if the season should continue long and late it might be the other way. 2. You cannot know, unless it be that your neighbor's bees are different from yours (say blacks, while yours are Italians) and then you may tell by the worker progeny of your young queens. 3. No, unless it be to give them a queen of better stock, and then you can do it at or near the close of harvest. 4. They should have the equivalent of thirty pounds of honey, and forty will do n harm. 5. There are others having there such rings, as the Cyprians. It doesn't matter about width of rings. The distance of one ring from another being the same in all cases. 6. It is the younger bees coming out for a play spell to take exercise. How to Prevent Swarming? My bees are hybrids but I am requeening with Golden Italians. My greatest trouble in handling bees is my inability to prevent swarming. I have tried numbers of plans, but still they swarm. Have tried ventilation, both top and bottom, give them plenty of space, go through them in the spring before they start raising young and give them a thorough house cleaning, put on supers when I see they are ready for them and still they swarm. The most satisfactory way I have found yet, is to go through them and cut out all queen cells, after they have the swarming fever. I would like to read some other ex- periences on this subject in the American Bee Journal. If I could overcome this one thing, I would be better satisfied to handle bees. Have read some about cutting out drone combs, so am going to try it next spring, and replace with worker comb. Each new swarm I take shall be put on frames filled with full sheets of foundation, as heavv a^ they make. l\Tv idea is not to in- crease the number of colonies, but keep the old ones strong and well stimulated. T saw in the May number. I believe, where some one said "the up to date" bee man does not use. or hardlv ever uses the oueen tran. I do not see how I could get along without it. T trv to have one for each hive. W*^<»n I sec them getting readv to swarm I ptit on the tran, or else I would lose them ^ p-i rot •-h-':i'~n'^v n' Ic *.o climb ani *■«•■■ f fT Miscellaneous Questions 1. Will hen lice bother bees if one has them in a /lOuse apiary in the second story of a chicken establishment? 3. In winter if bees run out of honey stores will they feed upon the stored pollen? Is it as good as the honey stores? .S. In giving bees candy for winter, would it be all right to pour the candy right in the empty combs while soft, or would it be bet- ter to insert the sheets of candy between the frames? 4. Win chickens bother bees. 5. How manv hives do yon think T could keep in my aniary here in Spokane. There are about a dozen good parks where there is a constant blooming of clover, domesticate^ flowers and trees. T live on the edge of one of the parks. There are practically no others here who keep bees. Washington. Answers; — 1. I never have heard of bees being troubled by such lice. 2. No, when the honey is all gone they will starve to death, leaving plenty of pollen in the hive. 3. It would be all right if you could get the candy into the cells, but I don't think you can. 4. Generallv not. Some renrt that thev eat drones," and there have been a very few reports of their eating workers. .'>. I could hardly make a safe gu^ss. Probably 50: possibly 100, Cellaring Bees— Introducing 1. Is it a good plan to winter bees out- side up to December 1st, in boxes filled with sawdust, 6 inches of sawdust under hives and all around excent in the front, which is covered with very thick rancr. a super con- taining a thick cusion of chaff on ton of each hive and a roof above to shelter the whole from snow or rain from December 1st to March 1st. I will winter them in a cellar according to directions in "Wintering of Bees'* bv A. 1. Root. On March 1st T will put theni in sawdust again as described above and leave them in it throughout the summer, or till next December. 2. Will it hurt the bees if in Tenuary T give them two combs taken out of hives in August, the cells partly filled with honey but unsealed. Does that unsealed honev riren in the hive when I put it away. The hive is in the house 3. In order not to ston the nueen from laying. T want to introduce during honey flow, a tested nueen th'ts: Rrnod rh^mbpr i-! divif'el into two c "a! c^r.:; a:*:*\C'i'« 'y a 352 October, 1914. American Vee'Jonrnal zinc queen-excluder litling so well under hive cover and all around that the queen in one compartment cannot go into the other, not even by the entrance, the inside of it is cov- ered with a piece of queen excluder. The cage containing new nuecn is inserted as it reached me from the mail. Five days later I take out the old queen and kill her and remove queen excluder, and will look whether new queen is in. What do you think? Or would it be better later in the afternoon to remove old queen and put cage of new queen in the middle of brood cbami>y?r? 4,. Will this tested queen lay as soon as ^33e3 aqi JO jno si aqs Montana. Answers: — 1. If the bees have a gooil flight December 1st, it will be all right; if not. it will be better to put them in the cellar directly after they have their last flight. 2. Any disturbance in winter is bad for the bees, although it will be better to distnrli them than to let them starve. Unsealed honey is not so good for winter and it does nol ripen in the house as well as when the bees are on it. 3. If the new queen gets out of the cage before the old queen is killed, she will very likely be killed by the bees in spite of the queen excluder. 4. She sometimes begins laying the same day she is out of the cage and sometimes not for two or three days or longer. Buying Swarms and Dividing 1. Can 1 divide stray swarms, imtting in frames with foundation, say about one-half to each swarm and put a queen in the new colony? 2. Will the new colony have to be kept closed after dividing? 3. Can I start a good swarm with one nucleus and queen. If so, how should I proceed? 4. I can get new swarms from $1.50 to $2.00. Is that too much? 5. How late would it be safe to divide and also to buy aueen? Our seasons are long here. The' 10th of October is a very early frost. Cotton blooming till frost. Oklahoma. Answers: — 1. Yes you can di\ide and have each one a good colony if the division be made early enough and the season be good. Leave the old queen in the one that is left on the old stand, and the part that is put onthe new stand will more readily accet a queen, for the older, or field bees will all go to the old stand, and the younger bees are better about accepting a queen. 2. Yes, you may do well to keep the bees fastened in for 2 or 3 days in the hive that is put on the new stand, and then less of I hem will return to the old place. If, how- ever, you put one or two frames more than the half on the new stand (of course, with their adhering bees) then it may not be necessary to fasten the bees in. For some reason the bigger the lot of bees and brood the less inclination to return to the old place. 3. Yes, you can start a colony with a one- to 10th, provide the colony be strong with plenty of brood. Crooked Combs 1. I bought 15 colonies of bees last fall, and they were on crooked combs. I cannot take the frames out without tearing the combs. The moths are getting into some of them' What must I do? How is the best way to Part of the Haley Crum Apiary at Crawford. Neb. frame nucleus and a queen, but it will take a lot of boosting to have it a good colony before winter. Of course, it makes a differ- ence when the start is made, and if made early enough, with a good force of bees to cover the one frame, in a good season it may need no help. Otherwise, the way to proceed is to give it a frame of brood about once in ten days until it has at least four frames of brood well covered with bees, and then it will be able to take care of itself. 4. All depends upon prices in your locali- ty; but the probability is that the figures named are none too high. 5. I don't know just how late it might be safe to divide. If the flow continues until Oct. 10th, and a laying queen is furnished, you might risk a division as late as Sept. 1st get them on straight combs when you haven't any extra ones ? 2. When is the best time to divide colo- nies: in the spring or fall ? Georgia. Answers.— I. Better leave them to winter as they are. Then when bees begin to gather next year— say in fruit bloom— try if you can find one frame somewhere in the hive that you can take out. If so. then by a little cut- ting you may continue to take out adjoinine frames, crowding each comb into its frame, cutting away attachments wherever neces- sary. It may be, however, that the combs are built in too crooked for this; in which case wait until the bees swarm; hive the swarm on frames filled with foundation, and 21 days later cut up the old combs and melt them, adding the bees to the swarm. In general it may be said that the way to get straight combs is to let the bees build them on frames filled with foundation. 2. In spring or early summer, at the time when bees swarm naturally. Bees Carried Out— Increasing 1. I have one colony that is carrying out brood in all stages of development, some alive with wings almost developed. Can you tell me what is wrong? 2. Is it profitable to buy nuclei and queens in September to increase the number of colonies ? Iowa. Answers — i One guess is that the larvai of the bee-moth, or wax-worms, have muti- lated the young bees with their galleries. and the bees carry them out. Another is that the bees are driving out the drones and destroying the drone larva\ 2, Generally it is better to get them at the beginning of the season. Apiary of H. O. Bader at Browning, III. Arranging Feed— Feeding in Spring I. Do you think it would pay me to go through all of my colonies this fall after 1 think the honey flow is all over for this year and put the honey that is above down i October, 1914. 353 American tee Journal in the lower story so it would be closer to the bees ? 2. Do you tliink it would pay to feed the bees in the spring, using the H. H. Thale feeder to net lots of young bees ready for the flow; begin to feed tliem so as to have lots of young bees by tlie time that the alfalfa comes into bloom. Arizona. Answers. ~-i. That depends. If the bees have had their own way they are likely to have the honey where it is best for them. If. however, by some means the honey is scat- tered in two stories, then try to get it com- pact in one story. 2. It will pay if there is nothing the bees can gather; otherwise not. th'anX'iraifa'Sr?''"' '^"^^ """""VIl^'ol!" ^'"'' ''"^""f" 1"'"°*^ R'^P"" Swaet Clover — Bees in a Porch 1. There is not a half acre of white or alsilaid anv express oltice east of the Rocky Mis,, $1,50 .Mull Co,, Uetnopolis, Ala Light amber Imney 8;4c a lb. California sage honey, IOC a lb. 2 oo-lb cans to a case. Sample of either IOC. I J Slringham. 105 Park Place, New York, N Y. The Beekeepers' Review is now owned and published by the honey producers themselves It is /*<■ paper ,/// honey pro- ducers should support Eight months' trial subscription, beginning with the May num- ber, for onlv s c Sample copy free, Ad- Hri->,>;. The Beekeepers' Review. Northstar, Mich, For Sale— Horsemint honey, also dark from Huckleberry, Put up in new 60-pound cans. Write for prices, A, L Krueger. New Ulm. Tex, For Sale— Light extracted honey; two bo- pound cans to case, new cans, SH cts : in 10 case lots at 8 cts per pound, f, o b. here. H G. Quirin. Bellevue. Ohio. For Sale— Raspberry. Basswood No. i while comb, $3,00 per case: fancy, $325: 24 Danz sec. to case, ti to Q cases to carrier. Extracted, i2o-!b. cases at o cts Wiley A. Latshaw, Clarion, Mich. Raspberry Hosev— L-ft on the hives until it was all s.*aled and thoroughly ripened It is thick, rich, and delicious Put up for sale in new oo-lb. tin cans. Price, $fi 00 per can Sample by mail, lo cts,, which may be deducted from order for honey, Elmer Hutchinson, R, D. 2. Lake City. Mich, SUPPLIES. Bee-Keeper. let us send our catalog of hives, smokers, foundation, veils, etc. They are nice and cheap. White Mfg, Co,, 4Atf Greenville. Tex, Better Hives for Less Money— Bee- keepers' supplies and standard-bred Ital- ian bees. Write for catalog, A. E. Burdick. Sunnyside, Wash, The a. I. Root Company's Canadian House. Dadant's Foundation. Poultry. Sup- plies. Seeds. Write for catalog. The Chas. E. Hopper Co.. 185 Wright Ave.. 'Toronto. Ont. 31ISCELLANBOUS Original and unique honey advertising post cards (photos) Write Dr. Bonney. Buck Grove. Iowa, for samples. I Got 100 pounds of comb honey per col- ony: my neighbors got none. I'll tell you how for 2SC. O N. Baldwin. Baxter. Kan. You have been thinking for some lime you would like lo become a National Bee- keepers' Association member. Now is your time; a yar's dues to the National and eight months' subscript ion to our own paper, ilie Beeke*-pers' Review, beginning wilh the May number, boili for only a dollar. Ad- dress wilh reniillaiice. 'The Beekeepers' Re- view. Northstar. Mich. POULTIJY For Sale— Single Comb Buff Orpington eggs for hatching, pure bloods: }i 00 per 15 or $s 00 per hundred Satisfaction Guaranteed. W. H. Payne. Hamilton. 111. FOR SALE For Sale— iooo colonies of bees in 10 api- aries. Located in Imperial Valley wliere crop failure is unknown. Owner started without capital less than five years ago. Is now retiring from active 'ousiness. Profits for five years have a\'eraged more than 100 percent annually. J. Edgar Ross. Brawley. Calif. WANTED Wanted— P'rom 4000 lbs to carload of comb and extracted. Iowa. Wisconsin or Michigan honev. Quote me prices W. H. Hyde, New Canton, III, SITUATIONS. Hei p Wanted— We desire an experienced apiarist to run from one to three hundred colonies of bees for three years on .hares foi one-half crop and increase. State age. nationality, and former experience in first letter, Spencer Apiaries Co,. Nordhoflf. Cal, October, 1914. (American Hee Journal P-O-R-T-E-R TRADE MARK PORTER REGISTERED Bee-Escape For getting bees out of the super automatically before removal from the hive. It is a combination of speed, safety and satisfaction that saves honey, time and money for the user. As a labor-saving device it has no superior. Avoids " breaking the back " in shaking heavy supers to get the bees out. Leading beekeepers the world over use these Escapes and give them their unqualified endorsement. No well-regulated apiary can afford to be without bee-escapes any more than it can afford to be without a bee-smoker. Single Escape. Prices : Each, 15 cents ; per dozen, $1.65 Double Escape. Prices : Each, 20 cents ; Per dozen, $2.25 Escape-board with Porter Escape in position for use Showing Escape properly mounted in Escipe-baard I All Porter Escapes fit the same size opening in Escape-board. For sale everywhere by dealers in Beekeepers' Supplies. If you have no dealer, order from factory, with full instructions. R. & E. C. PORTER, Manufacturers, LEWISTOWN, ILL., U. S. A. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. SUPPLY YOUR HONEY CUSTOMERS | Fine White Alfalfa CAN SUPPLY ANY QUANTITY Extracted honey packed in 60, 10, 5, and 2| lb. cans Send for sample and prices today DADANT & SONS, Hamilton, III. t m<^/^^i Honey and Beeswax Chicago. Sept. 15.— There is a firm feeling in llie clioice grades of while comb honey and sales are now beini; made chit II j- at i6c per pound, and where tlie wood section is allowed for it is bringini; 17c i)er pound. I he No. I and off grades brini; from if" ic per pound less. Amber trades aie ranuint: from io4c. Beeswax brings 3I@12C cash, 33@34C in ex- change for bee-supplies. Walter S Pouder. Los Angeles. Sept. 17— The supply of honey in California is considerably in ex- cess of the demand, which tias been ex- tremely light this season. The average prices received for honey so far this year liave been about ic per pound less than were received last year, but this has not re- sulted in a larger amount of business. Price on wax has dropped 2 or ^c per pound since ihekeen demand for foundation purposes has ceased. We quote the market on honey in carload lots for eastern shipment about as follows: Fancy water-white sage honey, 7Hc; light amber sage, iHc: light amber alfalfa, sc. Hamilton & Menderson. New York. Sept. 17.— There is very little new crop of comb honey arriving as yet, and owing to the war there is no demand to speak of. in a small way. white honey is selling all the way from i3ei')C per pound, according to quality and style of package: lower grades at from ii@i2c. There is no buckwheat on the market as yet. As to ex- tracted, we have never seen the market in such condition as it is at present. Large quantities of West India honey are coming in here, and are offered and sold at all kinds of prices, and we are advising southern bee- keepers to write us before making any ship- ments, as we may not be able to realize prices that they expect us to get, and we do not wish them to he dissatislied afterwards. Hildreth ii Segelken. October, 1914. American Vee Journal Our Special Big Four Magazine Offer! Woman's World-Household-People's Popular Monthly-Farm Life A special arrangement secured by the Atnerican Bee Journal, (enables us to offer to our subscribers for a limited time only the American Bee Journal for one year with a full year's subscription to all four of the above high-grade publi- cations, at the special price of $1.30. Four Big Magazines and American Bee Journal All Five for $1.30 PEOPLE'S POPULAR MONTHLY is one of the greatest popular fiction and home magazines publisfied. Con lains complete stories each issue. WOMAN'S WORLD has more subscrib- ers than any other magazine published, over two million a month. Its articles, its stories, its illustrations, are the best that money can buy. It is a magazine to be compared with any home magazine in the country, regard- less of price, without fear ol contradiction of any claims we makefor it. Its stories are by authors known the world over. FARM LIFE is a publication adapted to the everyday life of the farm folks, brimtull of things that help to make the farm life more cheerful and homelike. Special arti- cles by authorities on all subjects of inter- est to the up-to-date farmer. This offer supplies you with a IVIagazine of the best quality, giving you a year's supply of good liferature at a saving of one-half cost Thisis the best and biggest combination clubbing offer ever presented to the public. The pubisher of the American Bee Journal is glad to announce to his sub- scribers the completion of this splendid arrangement, whereby he can offer such an excellent list of publications in connection with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal at the remarkable price of $1.30 for all five. This offer is good for a short time only, and may be increased at any time. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, Illinois HOM§EHOLD THE HOUSEHOLD - A favorite magazine in a million homes. Every issue has many interesting features. An Embarrassing Mistake — A very young wife in a strange hotel was try- ing to find her husband. Thinking he was taking a bath, she knocked on the door of the bath-room and said: " Honey, are you there ?" And a strange masculine voice re- plied severely : "Madam, this is not a bee-hive; it's a bath-room." — Xuliotiul .\fuiilhly. The Bee. — The bee was born to pro- vide another method for getting stung besides the buying of gold bricks. We have nothing against the bee, although one day last summer the bee had some- thing against us^we think it was a hypodermic needle charged with red pepper. It is not right for a bee to do things behind its back, and a drone- bee who will get up from your anatomy and offer his seat to a tired queen-bee — a thorough business woman that sticks to her task — is mean enough to do anything. The department at Wash- ington, having to do with natural his- tory, ought to lock up such bees in their own cells for carrying concealed weapons. The bee always leaves a good impression behind it. This beest was first discovered in 4!)2 Bee, see. It is made up of wings, legs, and a hat pin, which is carried very promiscuously in its hip pocket. The drones will not move about in hot weather, but the queen-bee does its work whether it is warm or not. A bee-ist with 60 queens feels that he has reached the highest pinochle of success in bee-culture. The social bees make social visits continually, and the bumble-bees bum around all day. Drones, like the root- ers at a ball game, make all the noise, but do no work. A farmer never gives his bees any- thing for their blood because they have the hives. Don't monkey with the buzzer, but bee't it. — Kxc/iaiige. FREE FREE Memoirs of Napoleon In Three Volumes The personal reminiscences of Baron de Meneval, for thirteen years private secretary to Napoleon Bonaparte, bring out, as no history can, many enlightening and interesting side lights on the character of that greatest of loaders. De Meneval's descriptions have the piquancy and interest possible only because he was an actual eye- witness of the scenes and mcidents of which he writes. Their reliability and historical interest can be judged by the fact that the very conservative French Academy publicly recommends them. A SPECIAL OFFER TO OUR READERS By special arrangement with the publishers of Collier's, The N.itional Weekly, ne are ahle to give these valuable and interesting Memoirs free uitii a year's subscription to Collier's and this publi- cation, at a price less than the lowest net cash subscription price of ths two papers. Only a limited quantity of these Memoirs is available, honever, so to get the benefit of this special offer you must act quickly. WHAT YOU GET IN COLLIER'S Collier's is the one bitj, fearless, independent Weekly of the whole country. Its editorials are quoted by every paper in the Union. It stands always for the best interests of the greatest number of the people. Among its contributors are such writers as George Randolph Chester, author of " 'Get-Rich-Ouick' W'allingford," .Meredith Nicholson, Amflie Rives, H. G. Wells, Hamlin Garland, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Henry Beach Needham, etc. It numbers among its correspondents such men as Jack London, Arthur Rulil, James B. Connolly, and Henry Reuterdahl. It is a magazine for the whole family — Editorials, Comments on Congress, Photographic News of the World, Short and Serial Stories by the greatest writers of the day. Collier's $2.50 Am. Bee JoiirnaJ *l-00 Special comliinarion price Jncluflin^ ihe three-vol- ume Memoirs of Napoleon. posipaid Call or send subscriptions to this office. If you are already a — subscriber, your subscription will be extended for a year from its present date of expiration. AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Hamilton, Illinois We Make a Specialty of Manufacturing SECTIONS They are the Finest in the Land- None Better. Our Prices will make you smile. We want to mail OUR BEKSUPPI.Y CATALOG to every bee keeper in the land. It is FREE. Ask for it. H. S. Duby. St. Anna, III., carries a full line of Our Goods, and sells them at our regular catalog prices, AUG. LOTZ & CO. Boyd, Wis. Pkase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. ^ ARTISTS ENGRAYERS-ELECTROTyPERS 542 550S.DEARBORNST PONTIACBLDG. CHICAGO. ^ Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. AADU HARVESTER with binder at- IjllKn tachment. cuts and throws in ^"^ piles on harvester or winrows. Man and horse cut and shock equal toa corn binder. Sold in every State. Price only $20.00 with fodder binder. J n. Borne. Has- well Colo., writes- "Your corn harvester is all you claim for it ; cut, tied and shocKed 65 acres mile, cane and corn last year." Tesiiinoiiials and catalog: free, showing pic- tures of harvester Address, PROCESS MFC. CO., Salina, Kans. Pltase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing MR. BEEKEEPER: -Send us a list of goods you want for our fall dis- count. We can save you money. Also prices on our best roofing. This is the time to buy. Catalog free. H. S. DUBY & SON, St. Anne, Illinois Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Bee-Supplies LET US FIGURE WITH YOU We know we can satisfy you on quality. Write for catalog. C.C.CLEMONS BEE-SUPPLY CO. Dept. S., Kansas City, Mo Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. IMPROVE YOUR STOCK Willi Anderson s famous Texas QUEENS, Italians and Carniolans from im- ported and home-reared mothers Untested. 75 cts. each; $3 00 per dozen. Tested. $1 2> each; J12 00 CRANT ANDERSON San Benito, Texas per dozen 358 October, 1914. Americanize Jonrnal| SYRACUSE CHICAGO NEW YORK BALTIMORE CANONSHURG 9 CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY INCORPORATED HONEY CANS All Styles-All Sizes Friction Top Boxed Square Cans 60-Pound Shipping Cans HONEY PAILS Sales Offices : 2201 South Halsted St., Chicago 616 W. 43d Street, New York City )mommmmee99^mm^mm^m9mmm99mm9 CLOSING OUT SALE BEE BOOKS, VEILS AND SMOKERS I have some of the following that I would like to close out at once, and on which I make reduced prices, all post f aid : " Lanjstrolh on tlie Honey- Bee " (Latest edition. $1.20) $1.00 " Songs of Beedom " 10 bee-sones— 250 15 "Honey Money Stories" (25c) 15 "Pearce's Metliodof Beekeeping" (50c) ,^o Hand's " Beekeeping by 2.1II1 Century Methods" (50c) 10 Wilder's "Souiliern Bee-Culture " (5oc) w Mulli Bee- Veil ;75ci 60 Danzenbaker Bee-Smoker ($1.00) 80 I3.60 Or«//theabo.e in one order to one address for only $ji.00. (The retail price of the Lunch is $4.1)5.) Address, GEORGE W. YORK, SANDPOINT, IDAHO EASTERN Beekeepers If you are in need of shipping cases. cartons, honey jars, or anything in the supply line, let us (luote you on them. No 25 jars with bronze cap. \i ho a gross. Five gross. $.1 30 a gross. Untested Italians queens, $1.00. I. J. STRINGHAM 105 Park Place, New York APIARIES: Glen Cove, L. I. When You Need Queens We will be pleased to till yourordt-r. Our business nf rearintr queens was eslnblislied iiii^Hb. We know what it means to have a good strain of bees and queens that stands St cond to none. Ihiie-bdnd italij^ns only — l.rfd for business an^ C«<-i WE MAKE IT GOOD THE BEES MAKE IT FAMOUS The Reputation of DADANT'S FOUNDATIOM Has been Duilt on its merit It is a Favorite with Beekeepers BECAUSE It is so well liked by the BEES Whether it's a pound or whether it's a ton, every sheet is PERFECT Satisfaction Guaranteed in Every Way AJ, .«, Experimental Apiary and National Laboratory at Washington, D. C. November, 1914. American Hee Journal ^.^M3^3Rie^j^.^ PUBLISHED MONTHLY «Y American Bee Journal 1st Nat'I Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this Journal is $1.00 a year, in the United States of America and Mexico; in Canada. $1.10; and in all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 cents a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. THF WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- cates the end of the month to which your subscription is paid. For instance. " decu" on your label shows that it is paid to the end of December, igrj. SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- scription, but change the date on your ad- dress-label, which shows that the money has been received and credited. Advertising Rate, Per Agate Line, 15c. 14 lines make one inch. Nothingless than 5 lines accepted. DISCOUNTS: 1 times 14c a line « times lie a line 0 " I2C " 13 " (I yr.) IOC a line Reading Notices, 25 cents, count line. Goes to press the 23d of the preceding month. Celebrated Queens Direct from Italy Bses More Beautiful, More Gentle, More Induitrloos, Long TongHed, The Best Honey-Gathcreri, PKIZKS:— VI Swiss AgricultursI Exposi- tion. Berne. i8u5. Swiss National Exposition. Geneva. i8q6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Liege Belgium. i8q6. Bee-Keeping Exhibition. Frankfort O. M. (Germany). Convention of the German. Austrian and Hungarian Bee- Keepers. August. 1007. Universal Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., 1904, HIGHEST AWARD Dominion of Canada. Department of Agri- culture. Central Experimental Farm. Ottawa. Sept. 5. ion .SVV.— I am pleased to inform you that the three queens were received in good condi- tion, and have been safely introduced. (Signed) C. Gordon Hewitt. Domhn,Mi RnluTtn'fo^t^t. Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. Stillwater, Oct 7, 1Q13. Your queen arrived in first-class condition, and introduced her without any difficulty. (Signed) Prof. E. C. Sankorn. State Eiitontolot^t^t. Extra BreedingQueens.l3.oo; Selected. $2.00; Fertilized. $1.50; lower prices per dozen or moreQueens, Safearrivalguaranteed, Write Member of the) ANTHONY BIAGCI, National Bee-,- Pedevilla. near Bellinzona. Keepers' Ass'n I Italian Switzerland. This country, politically, Switzerland Re- public, lies geographically in Italy, and pos- sesses the best kind of bees known. Pkase mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. $ 2 $ A MONTH Imyt* a Standanl Type- writer yuur choice. Late Style VIhUiIch. Hack Spacer, Talmla- lur. Two-Color Hlh- hon. Every motlern opcralliiM con v e n - liiicf. My prIceH lower 111. Ill oUifi caMh prlccH I' c r r e c I Machlnew— Kiilly Ktiaranteerl. Ank re «.ai p!r4ee-!Ll9t CM* iiMiwa w f . ft jroaJi liAiunft -XU. Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Try My Famous Queens From Improved Stock. The best that money can buy; not inclined to swarm, and as for honey gatherers they have few equals. 3-Band, Golden, 5-Band and Carniolan Bred in Separate Yards Untested, one. 75c; 0, I4.25: 12. $7 50: 25 14.25; 100, $50. Tested, one. $1.50; six, $8.00; 12. J15. Breeders of either strain, I5. Nuclei with untested queen, one-frame, $2.50; six one-frame, $15; two-frame$3. 50; six two-frame $20.40; nuclei with tested queen, one-frame. $3.00; six one-frame. Si7-4o; two-frame. $4; six two frame $2.^.40. Our Queens and Drones are all reared from the best select queens, which should be so with drones as well as queens. No disease of any kind in this country. Safe arrival, satisfaction, and prompt service guaranteed. D. E. BROTHERS, Attalla, Ala. Statement of Ownership, Management, Circulation, Etc., of the American Bee Tournal, published monthly at Hamilton, Illinois. Editor— C. P. Dadant. Managing Editor — M. G. Dadant. Owner— C. P. Dadant, Hamilton, 111. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders holding one per- cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or securities — None. [Signed] M. G. D.\dant, A/anager. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 1st day of October, 1914. [seal.] R. R. Wallace, \otayy Public. My Commission ev-pires Sept. 21, 1917. ARE YOU GOING TO BUY LAND? If so, get a copy of our Journal first. It has lands advertised in it from nearly every State in the Union, so that you can find just what you want. It reaches 67.000 readers each issue Advertising rates 2c per word. Send 20c (or six months' trial subscription. It will be stopped at the end of six months. Farm and Real Estate Journal Traer, Iowa Bingham Bee Smoker MEW BINGHAM P)EE SMOKER. Patented Nearly Forty Years On the Market The original bee smoker was invented and patented by Mr. T. F. Bingham in 1878, 1882, 1893 and 190:^. The Bingham Smoker is up to date, and the standard in this and many foreign countries. It has recently been improved, and is the all-important tool of the most exten- sive honey producers of the world. No other invention in apiculture has been so important, as little could be accom- plished without the bee smoker. For sale direct or at your dealers. Postage extra. Smoke Engine. Doctor Conqueror Little Wonder. .4 inch stove. Weight iK pounds. $1.25 ■ iH " " " iy% " .85 ■254 I .50 Two Largest Sizes With Hinged Cover A. G. WOODMAN COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan BEE - KEEPER'S NOVELTY POCKET - KNIFE Phil. H. Graf, Canton, O. Your Name and Address will be put on one side of the handle as shown in the cut, and on the other side a picture of a Queen-Bee, a Worker-Bee, and a Drone-Bee. The handle is celluloid, and transparent, through which is seen your name. If you lose this Knife it can be returned to you, or it serves to iden- tify you if you happen to be injured fatally, or rendered unconscious. The cut is the exact size. We have succeeded in getting this knife made in lots from gen- uine car-van steel. It is especially well tempered and keeps its edge remarkably. Wheri ordering be sure to write exact name and address. Knife delivered within two weeks after we receive order. Price, postpaid, $1.00; or with a year's subscription to the American Bee Journal — both for $1.80; or given Free as a premium for sending us 3 New sub- scriptions at $1.00 each. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. ^^^"^^^^^^^K^K^KK^K s Untested Italian Queen-Bees ^ OUR STANDARD BRED ^ 6 Queens for $6.00; ^ 3 for $3.50; 1 for $1.25 ^ American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois ^ @ ■^ 364 November, 1914. 'i^s^-^C American Vae Journal "falcon" QUEENS Three-band and Golden Italians, Caucasians and Carniolans Untested, July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, $ .8.") ; six, $4 50 ; twelve, $, 8 50 SELECT Untested. July 1st to Oct. 1st, one, 1.00; six, 5.50; twelve. 10.00 Tested, $1.50 each. Select tested, 2 00. AH queens are reared in strong and vigorous colonies, and mated from populous nuclei. Instructions for introducing are to be found on the reverse side of the cage cover. A full line of bee supplies and foundation manufactured by us at Falconer, N. Y. Write for samples of our foundation and Red Catalog, postpaid. WESTERN DISTRIBUTERS:— C. C. demons, Bee Supply Co., 128-130 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Missour OTHER DEALERS EVERYWHERE Red Catalog, postpaid W. T. FALCONER MFG. CO., " Simplified Beekeeping," postpaid FALCONER N. Y. Where the good bee hives come from HONEY LABELS Owing to the many enquiries we have had for Honey Labels, we have put in a line of these for the convenience of our readers. Send for catalog, giving samples of labels with postpaid prices. We also list Envelopes and printed Letter Heads. American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois. ARTISTS ENQRAYERS-ELECTROTyPERS 542-550S.DEflRBORNST. PONTIACBLDG. CHICAGO. T Please mention Am. Bee Journal when writing. Gleanings in Bee Culture for 1914. The Magazine for the Beginner, Back-lotter, and Specialist Beekeeper For several years we have been doing our best to make GLEANINGS an indispensable publication tor the wide-awake beekeeper whether he has but one colony, a small suburban apiary, or a series of out-apiaries numbering hundreds of colonies in all. We believe we have never received such enthusiastic approval of our efforts as we received in iqh, when hundreds of letters from our friends told of their appreciation. We wish that we might print a number of them here, but we prefer to utilize the rest of the space for outlining our plans for igi4. For luu we shall continue the special numbers, the feature which has so delighted our readers during the last three years. In decidingjust what subjects to take up. we have not selected topics at random, for we have been guided by e.tpressions of the majority. JANUARY 1— Bees and Poultry.— We think we are safe in saying that no spe- cial number that we ever published proved so popular as our February 15th issue for 11)12. In getting out another special number devoted to the interests of poultrv-raising and beekeeping, we propose to surpass our former efforts and to get together the best material possible on poultry raising from the beekeepers' standpoint. FEBRUARY — Bees and Fruit.— Our March 15th issue for igi2 has been used far and wide by beekeepers and fruit-growers alike to show the value of bees in large or- chards. In the two years that have elapsed, however, so much new material has devel- oped that in order to be entirely up to date it is really necessary to have another spe- cial number on the same subiect. We have a wealth of material that has never before been given to the public. Kxtensive fruit- growers, who are not especially interested in Adwcr production, will tell of the value of bees in orchards. MARCH 1— Beekeeping In Cities.— Probably few beekeepers realize the number of beekeepers there are in every large city. City beekeeping is a most interesting topic, and in addition to storiesof beekeeping told by professional men. we shall havediscussed various problems connected with bees in attics, or roofs, and in back lots. We also have a /;-«f story of a beekeeper in a city who was Hned $100.00 because his bees were considered a nuisance, and who afterward appealed to a higher court and won out. A good story. APRIL — Breeding Ever since we first began having special numbers there have been requests on the part of a good many of our readers for a special number on breeding. We are glad that we are able to arrange for it this year, for it is a fact that very little is known in regard to breed- ing bees. Breeding is one of the most im- portant subjects connected with our pur- suit. We shall publish special articles by noted Queen-breeders on qualitications of breeding Queens. Queen-rearing both for the small beekeeper and the specialist will be fully discussed. JUNE 1 Moving Bees We, ourselves, expect to move loo colonies of bees to Florida, get a good honey crop, double the number of colonies, and move them back again in the spring. Details of moving by boat, wagon, auto truck, and by rail will be fully described and illustrated, and other large beekeepers having experience along this line have also promised articles for this number. AUGUST 1— Crop and Market Reports. —There has never yet been a systematic effort put forth for the compiling and pub- lishing of comprehensive crop 2nd market reports from various pans of the country. In 1014 we are going to make the effort of our lives to get telegraph reports fiom impor- tant fields, such as the clover-belt. 'I exas, Colorado. Idaho, and California, etc. These will be published right along as soon as we get them, but in this August 1st issue we shall have a grand summary of the crop re- ports and conditions of the market in gen- eral. No beekeeper should miss this impor- tant number. SEPTEMBER 1— Wintering— We have not yet learned all there is to be learned in regard to wintering. A number of specialists are going to make experiments during the winter of 1013 14. which experiments will be published in this number. We shall also give our own experience summed up as to feasibility of wintering northern apiaries in the South. IS NOT ALL THIS WORTH WHILE ? We have now given you our plan for 1014. If you are now trying to make the most out of your bees, we feel sure you cannot afford to miss such a wealth of information as the subscription price. $1.00. will bring you. The A. I. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, Ohio Novumber, 1914. American l^ee Joarnal 365 Special Club for Bee -Keepers You cannot buy from any source or at any price a finer combination of bee literature and general reading. The standard quality of both papers and books shown here, with the extraordinarily low cost, make a most attractive opportunity. ^]EM jFrnimi ^^mmm^ii J is iuu]uestionably the leading agricultural and home magazine. It goes every month into more than 800,000 homes in every State in the Union, Canada, Mexico, and foreign countries. It was first issued in March, 1877. Contains from 32 to 80 pages, according to the month. It is printed on good white paper, in large clear type, and freely illustrated. , •„ ^ ^ , The Farm Journal is cut to fit all subscribers, not only those of one section. It will be found equally valuable in Maine, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Oregon, or Alabama. It is timely, treating topics in season only. It is as practical as a plow and as full of meat as an egg ; no dry theory. It is cheerful, full of life and humor; likes a grin better than a groan. It guarantees every advertiser to be honest, and was the first paper in the world to do this (October, 1880). All medical advertising is refused. Few other periodicals, not even religious papers, can compare with it for cleanliness and purity. Consequently, it is the paper for children and young people. It never has to be carried out of the house with the tongs. The publishers spend all their time and efforts on the paper, to make it brighter and more useful. They publish no other periodical ; FARM JOURNAL is not the tail of any kite. All is crisp, concise and boiled-down, with sparkles of wit here and there, and such a cheerful, happy, sunny spirit throughout, that each page is an inspiration. You would hardly believe that a farm paper could be made so entertaining and readable. It is entirely unlike any other periodical in the world. We confidently commend it to every farm and village home in America. We need say nothing of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, with whose excellent qualities you are familiar. Here are our great offers : llluitralion Irom Biggie See Book Langstroth on the Honey-Bee This is one of the standard books on bees. It tells in a simple, concise manner just how to keep bees. It was originally written by Rev. L. L. Lang- stroth. the inventor of the movable- frame hive in 1851. The book has been brought right down to date by those expert bee-keepers — Dadant & Sons — than whom there are no better nor more practical bee-keepers in this or any other country. The book contains nearly 600 pages. It is fully illustrated, and bound in cloth. Every topic is clearly and thoroughly explained, so that by following its instructions no one should fail to be successful with bees. Price, postpaid. $1.20. Offer No. 1 ■] BOTH FOR Farm Journal 5 years ($1.00) ^$ 1 CQ American Bee Journal ($1.00) Offer No. 2 ^ ALL FOR Farm Journal 5 years ($1.00) lifri /\A "_,.," - - ■ ($ .50)j14 Farmers' Bulletin No. ii20 gives sta- tistics on the honey crops of 1913-14. The average crop per colony in the United States was 40.6 pounds in 1913, and only 31 6 pounds in 1914. But a very interesting feature is that the crop of extracted honey is increasing as compared with both the section honey and chunk honey. This means more honey for the masses. Scent- I*ro